Love's Labors Lost in Sin and Duty
by Radentor
Summary: Jellal and Erza are two lovers on different paths, destined to be apart... until Jellal decides to wise up and be a man. Sadly, he finds that Erza has gotten fed up with his fixation on redemption, and he realizes that you truly don't know what you've got until it's gone. With so much at stake, can Jellal uncover the truth behind the mysterious Julius Leengard and win Erza back?
1. An Unexpected Interloper

"Welcome back to Magnolia!"

The chant was rained down upon our heroes as they made their way to the prestigious guild hall on the far side of town, where it was crouched like a large grey beast in their path. The heroes in question? A team of Fairy Tail's strongest and most powerful wizards including Natsu the Fire Dragon Slayer, Erza the Requip Mage, Grey the Ice Wizard, Lucy the Celestial Wizard, and Wendy the Sky Dragon Slayer. Flying above the group as they paraded through streets full of cheering onlookers were Carla and Happy, who performed incredible acrobatics as they went. They spiraled around each other and shot upward before separating and tumbling toward the earth in a dive before looping back up and continuing their flight. Natsu, who always had extra energy to burn off, even after dangerous and exhausting jobs, shot several gouts of flame into the air that went off like fireworks. The town cheered on the successful troop of Fairy Tail's finest, and as one the group made their way up the street to the guild where Makarov and the others awaited the strongest team's arrival.

Hours of merriment, fun, and drinking passed as the afternoon slowly faded into a warm and breezy evening. Erza, Natsu, Grey, Lucy and Wendy all sat around one table and Mira kept bringing them drinks as they got rowdier and rowdier. Wendy, being slightly too young for alcohol, stuck with juice, soda and other sweet drinks while the rest of them indulged in a hard earned tankard of the guild's best brews. The hall was well lit and filled to the brim with partygoers, all celebrating another job well done. So why all the fuss? Perhaps it was because the strongest team in Fairy Tail had completed a job without destroying a single town. Maybe it was just because the events of the Grand Magic Games had left them shaken and they needed a break from all the doom and gloom. Either way, the party showed no signs of slowing down any time soon, and seeing as the drinks were on the house, Erza, Natsu, Grey, and Lucy all decided to indulge. After Lucy's fourth mug, it became clear she was no slouch when it came to her mead.

"Hey, Lucy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you so… celestially?"

"What?"

Natsu leaned in close to Lucy, bright red patches upon his cheeks as he stared into Lucy's eyes. She blushed furiously and leaned away from Natsu, conscious that he was a very curious and adventurous drunk.

"Why are you… sooo celestiallyyyy," he breathed, looking at her like the question was a matter of life and death.

"I… uh…"

Lucy had no response as Natsu blinked slowly and leaned in even more closely, sniffing at her. He grabbed Lucy and she yelped as he pulled her close and took a deep whiff, his nostrils flaring.

"You smell… Celestial. Sparkly. Pretty," Natsu said slowly, peering at Lucy like he was seeing her for the first time.

"Stop being such a creep Natsu!"

A sharp chop to the back of the salmon haired young man's head sent him careening into Lucy's lap. She looked at the person who did it, her face burning up a storm as Natsu snored away between her thighs.

"Uh, thanks Mira!"

"Sorry Lucy, this is why I didn't want to give him any, but he told me he would keep his animal instincts under control…."

Taking the dragon slayer under one arm, she went about waiting on other guild members, who paid no mind to the limp body in the crook of Mira's elbow. Lucy fanned herself and used a napkin to wipe Natsu's drool from her legs where his face had landed after Mira's chop. Erza and Grey giggled, and Lucy frowned at them.

"What's so funny guys?"

"Natsu," Grey said, his cheeks flushed with drink, "he never could keep his hands to himself when he was drunk. Whether he was fighting or… something else… he always had the need for skin on skin when he was plastered."

Lucy turned magenta and stood from the table, rounding on Grey and speaking so fast it was hard to understand.

"Whatexactlyareyouinsinuatingiceforbrains?!"

"Take it easy, Lucy," Erza said, propping her head up on her arm and looking at her friend knowingly, "this is how Grey gets when he's had a bit too much to drink. A loose tongue, a laid back attitude, practically naked…"

"Dammit all!"

Grey stood, not even realizing that he had stripped down to his boxers.

"I had clothes on just a minute ago," he said angrily, "what did I do with them?"

The ice wizard stormed off in search of his clothes, starting a guild fight as he elbowed his way through crowds of people. Within a few minutes, the guild had devolved into a full on arena and Lucy and Erza remained where they were as violence flared up on all sides.

"So, you and Natsu, huh? C'mon Lucy, don't be shy, since the Grand Magic Games you guys have gotten really close," Erza noted, raising an eyebrow at Lucy.

"No, me and Natsu are just friends, and co-workers," Lucy said stubbornly.

"We'll see how long that lasts," Erza said in an undertone, taking a hearty swig of her tankard and swilling the last remaining dregs of frothy brew.

"What about you and Jellal," Lucy prompted suddenly, "you two were pretty close last I saw."

"What are you talking about," Erza asked carefully.

"Well, I mean, you were the sole communicator between Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere during the Games, you kept up the flow of information, you worked together to figure out what was going on behind the scenes… it doesn't take much to put two and two together, Erza," Lucy said, taking a drink from her own mug and looking the scarlet haired woman in the eyes.

"We are separated by our individual paths," Erza said shortly, "we can't be together."

"Can't or won't," Lucy asked, her eyes twinkling with understanding.

"Perhaps both," Erza said, looking downcast, "but I have done my best to remain optimistic, and as luck would have it-"

Erza paused as Grey was thrown over their table, knocking their drinks to the floor. He stood again and massaged his back where it had hit the rough stone floor.

"I'm coming for that shirt, Elfman," Grey shouted, leaping over the table, "I want it back!"

"You never even button the thing up," Elfman retorted, "it should be worn by a real man."

"Touche," Lucy commented, watching as Elfman and Grey fought over Grey's clothes.

"As I was saying," Erza said angrily, her hate of being interrupted blossoming like a flower of anger, "I believe I may have found the solution to my problem… something to take my mind off of Jellal."

"Like what, a new hobby," Lucy asked.

"No, someone else," Erza said shortly, "someone who isn't afraid of a healthy, committed relationship."

"So you're back on the market, huh?"

"No," Erza said with a smirk, "I've already found the perfect man. I can't wait for you to meet him."

"When did this happen," Lucy asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

"It was before the last job. I met him at the Town Square and we went out for lunch. He was so kind and sweet and just… perfect," Erza said, thinking back to that sunlit afternoon only a few days ago.

"And so now you guys are together," Lucy asked incredulously.

"No," Erza said quickly, "he is well aware of my situation, he knows I want to take things slow. For the moment, we are just getting to know each other."

"What's he like? What's his name? How tall is he? What does he look like?"

Erza thought about that for a moment while Lucy ordered a couple of girly drinks from Mira, who still carried Natsu around under one arm. When Lucy turned her attention back to Erza, she found the warrior mage lost in thought with a smile upon her face and blush high upon her fair cheeks. The faraway look in her eyes told Lucy that she was not really there, but Lucy knew better than to snap her out of it. It was best to simply wait for someone like Erza to come to their own senses, lest she draw her sword and dice Lucy into ribbons. But then another thought struck Lucy and she blurted it out without thinking.

"How did you manage to find a guy that can handle your crazy? I mean, Jellal knows you from childhood, so how is this new catch of yours able to deal with all of your, uh, baggage?"

"I honestly don't know," Erza said, frowning, "I mean, I am well aware of my rather forthright and abrasive attitudes, alongside my rather tough exterior and my impeccable manners, but that is something I just can't get over. I almost wanted to grab the guy and shake him down for an explanation, but I resisted that urge. We just hit it off so well, and I swear he's just the best listener you'll ever meet, you know? Natsu can't sit still for five seconds, and Grey can't hear you over the sound of his clothes being ripped off all the time-"

"I heard that," Grey called as he dropkicked a fellow guild mage, freezing him where he stood.

"And then there's this stranger telling me that I'm the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and that he would love it if we could have lunch together and I just sort of… said yes. Is it bad I said yes," Erza asked Lucy sadly.

"Wha- no! No, you have every right to date whoever you like. You and Jellal are on two different paths, and until he makes it clear that he wants to be with you, you can do whatever the hell you please. Capiche?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right, besides, it's not like we did more than talk and stare into each other's eyes for what seemed like eternity…"

Erza bit her lower lip and gave a small moan, thinking about her mystery man.

"So, back to my questions, who is this guy," Lucy asked, nodding at Mira in thanks for the drinks and sipping at hers while Erza explained herself.

"His name is Julius Jeremiah Leengard, weird, I know," Erza said, raising a hand to stop Lucy from commenting, "but he's actually nothing like his name sounds, he's charming and funny and he was so polite. Plus he actually pulled out my chair, held open the door for me and paid the bill, plus a decent tip."

"Shallooow," Lucy said jokingly, looking sassy and raising an eyebrow.

"Am not," Erza laughed, "but you have no idea how nice it was to simply be treated like a lady. Everyone always assumes that I'm this beefy, strong willed, heartless woman, you know? They act like I don't like the little things and they assume I have no interest in being treated like a proper lady rather than just a guild mate or a friend. Don't get me wrong, I very rarely get heartthrobs, I enjoy being self-sufficient and I am far stronger than the average guy, but that didn't seem to faze Julius. In fact, he seemed more determined than usual to make sure I was comfortable and happy."

"Sounds amazing," Lucy said wistfully, stirring at the blue colored liquid in her cup as it slowly turned purple.

"It was," Erza said, "and I really want everyone to meet him! I actually have a date tomorrow, so if you like you could come with us and-"

"Whoa, Erza, take a second and think about that," Lucy said urgently, "you just met this guy, he doesn't know what you want out of this relationship, I think you should hold off on introducing him to anyone from the guild. I mean, imagine trying to take Natsu on a date with Julius! I think you should keep seeing him by yourself, get to know him better, and when he wants to meet your friends, you arrange a gathering, not a date. If you begin to bring people with you on what are supposed to be intimate dates you make it seem like you aren't interested in him romantically!"

"But I'm not sure if I am interested in him like that," Erza admitted, "I have no idea where to go from here!"

"Erza, trust me, from the look you had on your face when you were talking about him, I'd say this guy is a major catch. You were drooling over him! No but seriously, make sure you take things slow, talk it all out and make sure you're both on the same page, otherwise it will end up crashing and burning."

"I'll think on it," Erza said.

"So, what's he look like? Do I have to wring the details out of you or what," Lucy asked with a large smile.

"Well, he's tall…"

"Ok?"

"He's got shoulder length blonde hair, he's muscly, but not crazy ripped, which is nice. I'm not a fan of all those veins and whatnot. Let's see, what else… he's got a fairly plain taste in fashion, but it's rugged and roguish, so I like it. His eyes are green, he has all of his limbs and fingers, his teeth are clean and he has a scar that runs across his lips and down his jaw. Um, he's got a younger face, but he's actually my age, no facial hair, and he's a wizard," Erza added, reveling in the fact that she could talk to Lucy about girl stuff.

"What sort of magic does he use," Lucy queried.

"I think it was some kind of air magic. Nothing major, but enough to make the flowers levitate over our table…."

Once again, Erza was lost in the afternoon spent with Julius. Lucy, desperate for more, snapped her fingers in front of Erza's eyes, ignoring the possible consequences of her actions.

"Erza, focus! Now, how much did he spend on you? Did you enjoy the date? Was he nervous? Did he buy cake?! I have to know!"

"He spent a lot! It was great! Of course he was nervous, but he was also cool about it! Of course he bought me cake! Would I be this flustered if he didn't even bother to get me cake, Lucy? I don't give it out to anybody, I have standards!"

After a moment of intense eye contact both woman broke down laughing, both at their conduct and at each other. Their breath was limited and Lucy pounded upon the tabletop as she tried to force herself to stop laughing.

'Dead puppies,' she thought wildly, 'dad is dead, I'm really, really sad… cake floozy!'

She burst out on fits of renewed laughter and Erza began to laugh harder too until they were both clutching the table for support and wiping away tears as they gasped for air.

"I needed this," Erza said happily, taking a sip of her surprisingly sweet and strong drink as it turned from green to yellow.

"Yeah, it has been pretty uptight around here," Lucy agreed, looking around at the aftermath of the brawl, in which a few people were still avidly participating.

"Hey Lucy," Erza asked.

"Hmm," Lucy responded, sipping her drink and watching Grey and Elfman play tug of war with the ice wizard's shirt.

"Will you help me with this whole dating thing? I realize that I'm a woman and that I should know what to do but truth be told…"

Erza glanced around, making sure no one was listening before she continued.

"Truth be told, I'm not exactly what you would call experienced in the love department…"

"So you're a-"

Erza nodded grimly.

"What about-"

Erza shook her head.

"He's the only guy I've ever liked in that way, but we've both been so busy with all that's happened, there's no time for us. And it's not just that I've never done _that,_ I've also never even had an actual boyfriend. I have no idea what to do or where I go from here," Erza admitted in an undertone.

The doors to the guild hall burst open, and a figure stepped inside, bringing with him the brisk freshness of the night air. Over the threshold of the Fairy Tail guild hall and into the main entrance stepped none other than the masked mage, Mystogan.

"Whatever you do, I expect things are going to get a bit more complicated," Lucy said quietly, staring at the hooded and cloaked figure with several staves slung across his back.

"Everyone, your attention please," Makarov declared, standing upon the bar and pointing at Mystogan, "I am pleased to announce that Mystogan has returned to us at long last! He will be staying here for a small break, so do not pester the man and be sure to give him your utmost respect during his temporary stay here."

"I am honored to be staying here while I recover from my injuries," Mystogan said through his mask, "I ask only that you respect my privacy and that you refrain from touching me, as my wounds are still very sore. However, if there is anything I can help you with, please do not hesitate to ask. I am not the most practical, but I can guide your own hands assuredly in almost any task."

His eyes pierced the crowd, and almost immediately picked up the long scarlet mane of hair he'd come to associate with Erza. She looked resplendent in her armor and an unpleasant squirm issued from Jellal's navel as he took in her radiance through the guise of Mystogan.

'She's beautiful,' he thought before he tore his eyes away from her and began to work his way over to her table.

Erza watched him approach, limping as he came, his clothes worn with travel and his bandages dirty, but not stained through just yet. With a small sigh and a twinkle of mischief in his eye, Jellal peered at Erza and almost instantaneously, she knew it was Jellal.

"So it's you," Erza said quietly.

"Were you expecting someone else," Jellal asked, leaning forward.

"I've seen stranger things happen, for a moment I thought you might have actually been the Edolas version of you, the actual Mystogan…"

"Try not to sound so enthused," Jellal said quietly.

"What can I get you, Mystogan," Mira asked, cutting across the floor so that she could serve the S-Class wizard.

"Some water would be wonderful," he said in his gruff voice, "and perhaps a sandwich if you're able?"

"Coming right up," Mira said with a smile as she darted to the kitchens, sidestepping people who were waiting for service.

"What are you doing here," Erza hissed, "I thought you were on the run again, leading Crime Sorciere?"

"I was," Jellal said, "but I… well, I decided that we needed to talk…"

Jellal glanced at Lucy, who listened to every word and stared at him with a sense of disbelief.

"About us...," Jellal said, looking right into Lucy's eyes.

Lucy made no move to leave and Erza was getting tired of Jellal's stalling.

"Alone," Jellal said, shocking Lucy, who waved off the words and relocated to a different table.

"Be nice to Lucy," Erza said scathingly, "she was helping me with… stuff."

"I'm sorry," Jellal said shortly, not looking very sorry at all, "but I needed to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Us."

Erza made to stand and leave, not believing that Jellal had decided to show up then of all times, but he grabbed her arm from across the table and then withdrew his hand as if he'd been stung.

"Argh," he grunted, gripping his side and growling in frustration.

Erza immediately froze and sat back down, staring at the bandages. She'd never even given them any thought, but as it turns out it seemed they were real.

"What happened to you," Erza asked, "who did this?"

"No one," Jellal said, "that's not important. Erza, I need to tell you something, something I should have said a long time ago. I've been doing a lot of thinking and my injuries… they're a lot worse than I let on. I almost died and staring death in the face is not exactly the wakeup call I would've liked, but better late than never I guess."

Erza watched as Jellal's bandaged fingers lightly drummed the table and his eye flicked nervously here and there as he talked his way full circle around the topic. After a moment she gave him a gentle kick in the shin to get him back on track and he sucked in his breath and bit his tongue before he continued.

"Erza, I have given much thought to this, and if you would have me, I think we should make things official."

"What do you mean," Erza asked sharply, stirring her drink and eyeing the criminal before her with a warning expression.

"I mean that I am tired of being alone. I am getting to old to be alone all the time. I have spent seven long years trying to be the man I thought you deserved, and all this time I've simply skirted around the issue-"

"Sort of like you're doing now," Erza commented with a sigh, "just on a grander scale."

"Yeah, sort of like…," Jellal broke off, for a moment, realizing what Erza had said about him.

"Whoops, right, sorry. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is… what if I left Crime Sorciere? What if I took up Mystogan's mantle and stayed with Fairy Tail? I know the Magic Council, or what's left of it, still has a bounty on my head, but I don't care. Erza, I've finally readied myself for a semi-normal life. I want to settle down, work with a guild… maybe find a woman and… I dunno… raise a family?"

Erza stared at Jellal, who stared back determinedly. He had never been so flustered in his entire life. If he had ever wanted something, he went in circles trying to find the most inconspicuous way to get his hands on it. He never once just charged right in and seized it like he did now. He was usually careful, calculating and distant, an observer and talented strategist, but somehow that was the dividing line between who he had been before and who he was now. If he cared for Erza so much that he was willing to go against who he was as a person to make things work, she would obviously see his intentions and try to return his feelings, right? A nervous sweat rose on the forehead of the heavily garbed man and he pulled at his collar anf looked around, aware of the several eyes still upon him.

"Jellal, I care for you, I really do, but after waiting so long…"

The man dressed as Mystogan felt his heart drop and his stomach turn to lead as Erza spoke, each syllable condemning him to misery of the worst kind.

"…I've decided to try my luck in deep sea fishing."

Jellal stared at Erza disbelievingly, unsure of what to make of this revelation. He had never taken Erza to be an angler, and somehow the image of her in khakis and a fisherman's hat, out at sea on a boat didn't seem to fit the current situation at all, but even so, he felt his heart soar with glorious hope once more.

"Deep sea-," he began to ask questioningly before being cut off.

"That came out wrong," Erza said, bringing a hand to her forehead and scowling, "it seems the drink has begun to interfere with my thoughts… they seem sluggish. What I meant to say is that I am currently testing the waters. I have cast out my net and gotten a catch, so to speak."

It may have been more fisherman talk, but now Jellal finally understood what Erza was trying to say. She had gotten tired of Jellal and his seemingly hopeless case. She had lost faith in him, and now he had gone and blown any chances out their being together out of the water.

'Why is it that people equate relationships with fishing expeditions,' Jellal thought to himself as he digested Erza's words.

He said nothing, nor did she, instead they both just sat there and avoided eye contact until Mira came over and laid down Jellal's food and drink.

"Here you go," she said cheerfully, laying a covered platter and a pitcher down before Jellal.

"Thank you, Mira," he answered in his best impression of the Prince of Edolas.

"You're welcome!"

She strolled away and Jellal took the cover off of his platter to find it filled with delicious looking sandwiches on buttery, fresh baked buns. They were stuffed with meat, cheese, and vegetables in just about every combination available. Without hesitation, Jellal numbly seized a sandwich and dug into it. He had been so hungry during all his traveling, and while it felt good to eat and drink some fresh food, he found that it didn't taste quite as good as he had expected it too. In fact, it seemed rather bland and devoid of flavor, but not for Mira's lack of culinary refinement, but more for the slow, throbbing ache that was slowly working its way through his heart like a venomous poison. It was his hurt, his anger, his jealousy and his unrequited love. They begged to be unleashed in the form of magical energy. The fugitive of Fiore took a large bite and chewed it hastily before he swallowed, staring intently at a crack in the table. He had messed up. He had missed his chance to solidify his relationship with Erza… how could he have been so foolish, it was unfair of him to expect her to wait for him, and now all the thoughts that had kept him on his feet as he traveled seemed pointless, everything did. His sore legs were pointless, his inflated ego and sense of importance were equally as unneeded. His love for Erza, the single ray of hope that had kept him going as he walked day and night to rejoin her, was now extinguished, his flame had gone out.

"So, you've found someone else, have you," Jellal asked, trying his best to remain calm.

"I have," she said, looking uncomfortable about the breaching of the subject.

"What's he like," Jellal asked, wondering what this man offered that he hadn't.

"He's wonderful," Erza said, not mincing her words to spare Jellal's comfort, "he's kind and considerate, smart and loyal, handsome and yet somehow not quite as debonair as the wizards of Fairy Tail. Don't get me wrong, he's certainly charming, but he's so down to Earth and laid back, it's a nice change of pace from the…"

She glanced around, seeing the warning signs of a resurgence in brawling as several arguments became heated.

"…from the madness," she finished quietly.

"Erza, I seek the same thing," Jellal said, throwing down his unfinished sandwich and downing several large gulps of water so he could speak, "I realized that after my battles. I realized that my sins will never be fully atoned for, I will spend the rest of my life making amends, but I am willing to put you first! I am willing to settle down and repay society in other ways for the harm that I've done to it. I'll donate to charity, I'll buy a house and pay the mortgage on time! I'll shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, buy coats for the poor during winter-"

Jellal reached an arm forward and grabbed Erza's hand, an urgent glint in his eyes as he gazed at the scarlet haired wizard in desperation. Once more, she looked like she might pull away, but she refrained from doing so in case she hurt Jellal in the process.

"-Erza, I would do anything, anything at all, if it meant me and you could be together."

Erza felt a surge of guilt flow through her gut and she gently but firmly wriggled her hand from Jellal's grip, as there were still eyes upon the two of them. She glanced around nervously, looking for anyone who was overly watchful in her peripheral vision. When no one caught her eye, she once more looked back at Jellal and huffed.

"Jell- Mystogan you and I both know that this is too little, too late."

"So it's serious then," he whispered, withdrawing his hand and slumping down in his chair, looking at the edge of the table without seeing it, "your new relationship is serious. And you're happy with him too."

Erza did not want to lie, so she said nothing, and the silence almost seemed to make the masked man's heart hurt even more as he felt it tear in two.

"I see it was a mistake coming here-"

"Wait," Erza said, "I am not being entirely truthful with you, I just… look, I only met the guy a few days ago, but he already seems so nice and we get on so well, I've agreed to meet him again. Now I understand how you can be when you don't get what you want, but I will offer you a deal."

"And what would that be," Jellal countered quickly, feeling a sliver of hope reinflate the two separate halves of his heart.

"You remain here, seeing as you have to heal anyway. You and I can see where things go with Julius, and if it turns out we don't seem to mesh well, you and I can give us a try," Erza finished in an undertone.

The tired fugitive leaned forward, feeling as if his spirit had been built up and crumbled, then reassembled several times over, which it had. Still, he now realized why he was so enamored with Erza. It was not just that she was beautiful, nor was it simply because he had known her for so long, it was because she had always believed in and forgiven him. Even when he had done so many terrible things, she convinced him to live for the sake of righting the wrongs he'd committed so long ago.

'She's never once condemned me for my actions, she's never been concerned with the atrocities carried out by these two hands,' Jellal thought, looking down at his bandaged hands, the number of lives he'd taken using them whirring through his head, an uncountable tally of faces, names and memories, all erased by his deeds.

"Even after everything I've done," Jellal whispered to himself, "I am shown such kindness and compassion by someone whose life I've almost destroyed."

"You never destroyed my life," Erza said quietly, "that was not you, not in your right mind anyway. Those days are long gone. Now, do we have a deal? You will stay here, you will observe, and you will not interfere in any way, shape or form. In return, if things do not work out, you and I will…"

She didn't finish, but blushed the color of her hair and stuck out a hand. The man dressed as one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages stood and stuck out a hand and with a handshake, he sealed the deal with the woman of his dreams. Unseating himself from the table, he took his platter of sandwiches and his pitcher of water and left through the large guild hall that he had never seen before. Still, he remembered the directions Mira had given him and he eventually found him way to his quarters. It was a large room, as he assumed all the S-Class mage's rooms were. It was fully furnished, filled with luxurious refinement and a wealth of comfort.

"Work hard, play hard I suppose," Jellal mused as he stripped of his heavy, travel stained robes and bathed himself in the large bath tub replete with massaging water jets. When he left the bath water, however, he noticed the severity of his injuries in the mirror. It was a gory mess of bruises, blood and gashes, but still, he rebandaged them with fresh wrappings and drew the curtains of his apartment before he retired to his bed, resting fitfully as he thought about Erza and wondered if she was thinking of him. He gazed at the flagstone ceiling supported by large wooden beams as he relaxed for the first time in who knew how long. He had been so tired, and a part of him felt that if he stayed in Fairy Tail any longer, he would only come to regret it.

'What was I thinking,' Jellal asked, 'if word of Mystogan's arrival leaves the guild hall, the Magic Council will most certainly send someone to investigate me!'

He leapt from his bed, cursing his sore and wounded body before he hastily scrawled a note and addressed it to Makarov, detailing his thoughts on maintaining the utmost secrecy regarding 'Mystogan' and his return to the guild and making sure there were arrangements made so that he could go about his business. Sooner or later, he would need to leave the residence. He also added a postal script asking if Makarov could set up a session with a healer, or perhaps just send a potion or two to help speed up his recovery. He signed the hastily scribbled note with a flourish and set it out in the dropbox outside his door, only to find that the note vanished as soon as it hit the bottom of the box.

"Magic," Jellal said wondrously as he closed his door and drifted back to his bed to await a replay from Makarov. But after he'd finally drifted off to slumber, all his dreams involved him being toyed with by a scarlet haired woman who seemed to pride herself upon his despair, and after several rude pranks, he ended up chasing her down dark and narrow tunnels until she was gone from his sight, and Jellal was left all alone in the darkness of his dreams, which had turned into nightmares that made his wounds throb with pain as he thrashed in his sleep.

 **Good evening, my fellow Guildmages, I present to you my latest work, a Jerza fanfiction that I hope you will get a kick out of! I realized that I've never written a romance story that was actually light hearted and fluffy, as I thought I'd give it a try. I have a few scattered idea's for scenes that I will incorporate, and if you think you have any heads up on the plot, please keep it to yourself. For instance, there's a huge hint at the future of this story hidden in the name of Erza's newest man, one Julius Jeremiah Leengard, but like I said, if you figure it out keep it to yourself. This story is a sort of test to see if I have evolved my writing at all, and to see if I can still write light hearted stories without bloodshed, swearing and violence galore. Should be fun! I listened to all sorts of music when I wrote this, as it was difficult to write for me, but the music that inspired Jellal's dream sequence is as follows:**

 **Cosmic Love-Florence and the Machine**

 **Read on, Fairies!**

 **Also, a HUGE THANK YOU to Arya-Aiedail of deviantart for allowing me to use her picture as a cover image, she is truly gifted and I think you should check out her other work!**


	2. Preparations

Erza woke early the next day, preparing herself for a wonderful day. She had informed Makarov that she would not be around the guild much that day, and she walked around her apartment in the guild nervously for the majority of the morning. With each lap around the living room, she found herself requipping into a different outfit.

'Too much… too plain… almost perfect… no, that won't do,' Erza thought as she went. Finally, she decided upon her normal clothes, kind of. She wore her standard white, sleeveless blouse and her blue skirt, but she also put on a pair of puffy white sleeves that matched her top and she wore stockings under the skirt. Lastly, she traded out her combat boots for a pair of plain black heels and looked herself over. She looked… alright, but it was still missing something. She snapped her fingers and smiled before she requipped her hair. It was a bit more difficult, as her various and wide assortment of armors rarely changed her hairstyle, but she tried just about everything she could think of.

"This is useless," Erza said hopelessly, "if I can't even do my own hair, what am I going to do? How am I going to show Julius that I am not disinterested in his company?"

Her eyes widened, and she looked into the mirror as a lightbulb lit above her head.

"Lucy!"

The voice was faint, coming from what Lucy thought was her bathroom. The blonde haired Celestial Wizard had intended to sleep in, as she and Erza had stayed up late last night and drank an awful lot of alcohol. Lucy's head was still slightly buzzing and sore as she swung her legs out of bed and glared at the sun.

"Lucy, are you there," the voice asked.

It was Erza's voice, Lucy would know it anywhere, so why was there a tone of desperation in it? She hobbled to the bathroom as fast as she dared, trying not to fall over as she went and she leaned herself against the sink, looking blearily into the mirror. Erza was reflected in it, looking as desperate as she sounded.

"Hey, Erza," Lucy said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "what's up?"

"Lucy, you promised me your aid last night, and I… I need your help with matters of the utmost importance," Erza said, bowing her head to the blonde through the mirror.

"With what?"

"I can't do my hair," Erza pleaded, "I require your assistance immediately!"

Lucy yawned and shivered, she needed some coffee and some breakfast, then she would help Erza.

"Give me, like, forty five minutes and I'll be over," Lucy said tiredly.

"No time!"

Erza reached out, and her hand came through Lucy's mirror, much like they did in horror novels, and Erza dragged Lucy through the mirror and the blonde screeched like a banshee.

"Let go of me, mirror demon," Lucy shouted and Erza shook her to steady the blonde.

"Oh, hi Erza."

"Hello, Lucy, now to business…"

Lucy had never been pulled through a mirror, so the after the shock of that wore off, she found herself immersed in the realization that she had never seen Erza's quarters. She knew that the scarlet haired warrior mage rented a place from the guild, but she never knew it was this spacious and homey.

"You make a good house," Lucy said, blinking from all the light coming through Erza's window.

"I'm glad you like it," Erza said quickly, frog-marching Lucy to the bathroom.

Erza took a seat upon the toilet and turned so that her back was to Lucy. The blonde saw a variety of hair care products laid out neatly upon the bathroom counter and Erza shivered where she sat.

"Mold me," Erza said, "make my hair fabulous!"

"You sure that's wise," Lucy asked, "I still feel a little, uh, woozy, what if I… I don't know… accidentally set your hair on fire with the hair spray?"

"Then you will be punished."

Lucy shivered at Erza's tone, and without further ado she picked up the comb and the hair spray, setting to work upon Erza's fine crimson locks. Almost an hour passed before Erza was satisfied with Lucy's work. Not that Lucy was a poor stylist, but Erza did not know exactly what she wanted, making her difficult to cater too.

'Sure hope Julius is up for the job,' Lucy thought as she remembered the plan she'd made with Erza to come with and observe, just to be on the safe side.

"Ok, now that that's done, can I go? I need to eat and make some coffee, and then I'll meet you at Magnolia Square Gardens, ok," Lucy asked, yawning once more.

"No, you'll be staying with me until we get to the square, then you will follow me at a twenty foot distance until I reach the café! If you need to eat, you will eat here and you can where some of my clothes until this operation is complete!"

Erza looked slightly manic, as if afraid of being left alone to go on this date, but Lucy smiled and nodded, as she knew she had very little choice in the matter. Lucy wore a pair of unassuming shorts and a tube top that Erza lent her, along with a pair of strappy shoes and a hastily done up bun so that she could be ready for anything, and it was hard to spy on people when you had to blow hair out of your face every five seconds. Lucy was sitting at the table, nodding off when Erza thrust a light breakfast and a cup of coffee into Lucy's hands, who accepted that it was all she would get until she got to the café later.

"Is it really necessary for me to stay here," Lucy groaned as she munched on an egg sandwich and sipped at her scalding coffee.

"Of course, preparation is the best defense again everything. Now, Lucy, I've prepared some flash cards, I wish for you to read them off to me and gauge my answers as a man would."

"Wait, what?"

Erza thumped a stack of flash cards down at the table and stared Lucy dead in the eyes.

"I refuse to look like a fool because I was unprepared! Let us begin," Erza said, just about knocking Lucy out of her chair with the force of her proclamation.

"Ok, here goes… You look great today," Lucy stammered, looking utterly bewildered at the card and ending her statement on a high note, signaling askance.

Erza, however, sat down across from Lucy and looked sweet and innocent. A light blush appeared upon her cheeks and she giggled lightly.

"Why thank you, I love your outfit! You look pretty handsome, yourself!"

Erza gave an over the top wink, and Lucy's face just about melted. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but Lucy was very aware of how pretty the warrior mage was. Lucy gulped past the lump in her throat and took a sip of her coffee, almost choking on it.

"That was… uh," Lucy said, "um, well it was…"

"Was it terrible?"

Erza looked like she might cry as her lower lip began to quiver and her eyes grew bright with unshed tears.

"I have tried so hard to perfect the art of subtle seduction, but it doesn't seem to work! I give a compliment and suddenly people think I want to marry them and have thirty three children," Erza cried as she lamented her social awkwardness.

"No, no! You were great, I think without the wink it was just about perfect," Lucy said, waving her hands and shaking her head.

"So just… get rid of the wink," Erza asked, sniffling past her tears.

"Yeah, no wink, but keep the blush and the giggle. And maybe tone down the compliment; just say he looks sharp or something!"

"I never understood that, saying one's outfit is sharp," Erza said, becoming moody, "THIS is sharp!"

A sword appeared in Erza's hands, and with a slice through the air, it took a leg off of Lucy's chair and sent her tumbling to the floor.

"Oh no, Lucy! Are you alright," Erza asked, staking her sword in the ground next to Lucy's face and kneeling at her side.

"I'm just fine thank you, now please put the sword away," Lucy said quickly staring at her reflection in the blade of the sword less than an inch from her face.

"Sorry," Erza said, stowing the sword away with magic and helping Lucy to her feet. Erza pulled up a new chair and Lucy sat in it trembling at the thought of almost being stabbed… twice.

Erza wanted to get right back to it, but Lucy raised a hand and took a little breather to calm down and gather her thoughts, which seemed to have scattered by the near death experience. After recapturing some semblance of order and reassuring herself that she wasn't going to stomp out and leave Erza to her own devices, Lucy put her hand down and picked up the first flashcard.

"Alright, let's try this again," Lucy cleared her throat and her voice changed, becoming deeper and more masculine, "you look great today, Erza!"

Erza gave a giggle and blush, and Lucy wondered how many times the Queen of the Fairies had to practice that in the mirror to get it to look the same every single time.

"Thanks, you don't look bad yourself," Erza said, avoiding eye contact with Lucy, content to look at the ground at her feet.

"Perfect," Lucy said, "that made me feel like buying you flowers and paying for your lunch. A-plus for Erza! Next card…"

The blonde Celestial Wizard picked out the next card and read it aloud.

"Do you want to go back to my place for coffee," Lucy read out in her masculine voice before giving a shriek.

"Erza, what the heck? Who wrote these cards," Lucy hollered.

"I did," Erza said loudly, "and that is a line I read very often in my novels!"

"You didn't… oh lord, did you get these from your smutty romantic novels," Lucy asked, holding her forehead and wishing she didn't already know the answer.

"Yes," Erza said, "and I have six more decks of filled out flash cards to prepare for every eventuality, so let's get a move on!"

Lucy, who was not going to help Erza in her fulfillment of every romantic novel scene in the Fairy Queen's head, looked at Erza with her best angry glare and whispered to her.

"Erza, if you use these flashcards… he won't respect you!"

"What?!"

"He'll think your throwing yourself at him! He'll think he has you wrapped around his finger! Are you his plaything, Erza? Are you just another one of his girlfriends, huh? Or are you a proud warrior, an S-Class wizard of FAIRY TAIL?"

"I AM an S-Class Wizard of Fairy Tail," Erza said, going along with Lucy's miniature pep rally.

"Are you gonna let this guy do whatever he wants? Or are you gonna show him that you are a mature adult that wants a mature relationship? Are you gonna let him tell you what to do, or are you going to let him know about everything that bothers you so that he knows how to behave around a woman of refined tastes? Think about it! If you use these, that cheap scoundrel probably won't even pay for your lunch! He probably won't even buy dessert, or pay the tip, or hold the door open for you!"

"You're right," Erza shouted, "I must show him that I am not just another woman! I am Titania Erza! Queen of the Fairies and I have high standards that he will either achieve or die trying!"

"Um, maybe not die," Lucy said, "but you should make him work for it and show that he isn't just looking for a floozy!"

"I am not a cake floozy," Erza said, putting her hands upon her hips, "I am a warrior!"

"Then act like it," Lucy said, looking determined, "show me that you've got what it takes to play hard to get!"

"Like this!?"

Erza was engulfed in a flash of light as she requipped, and within moments she was covered head to toe in her Adamatine Armor, the very same armor she used to rebuke the Jupiter Canon during the Fairy Tail vs. Phantom Lord guild war.

"In this armor, he'll have no chance! And if I substitute this shield for a weapon, he'll have no choice but to pay for lunch, and dessert! And a tip," Erza said, a manic light in her eyes.

"One more thing, Erza," Lucy said, looking unsure at the red haired woman's motives, "keep the weapons out of the date, ok? I know they make you more at ease, but stabbing this Julius guy won't get him to like you!"

"I stabbed Natsu and Grey plenty of times when we were kids," Erza said, holding a hand to her chin, "and they like me just fine."

"They aren't dating you though," Lucy said, a sweat developing upon her forehead as she spoke.

"True… very well, I shall take your advice."

Erza's armor disappeared in a flash of light, leaving her date clothes and a rather disgruntled looking warrior mage.

"What's wrong, Erza," Lucy asked.

"I just remembered… Jellal."

"What about him?"

"I… made a deal of sorts with him," Erza confessed.

"WHA- What kind of deal, Erza? Not the married with thirty three kids kind, right? RIGHT?"

"No, not that kind, just… well, if Julius and I are not compatible, I promised to give Jellal another try at me," Erza said, turning her back upon her friends and blushing.

"Um, do you have any idea how dirty that sounded," Lucy said.

"Was I wrong to give him another chance," Erza asked, "I know he cares, but I've just waited so long for… for any type of connection… to not be so lonely and sad all the time."

"But you have me, Natsu, Grey, and Happy, not to mention Wendy and the rest of the guild," Lucy said exasperatedly.

"I know, and you guys are the only thing that makes this life worth living. Without you all, I would be lost, but I can't help feeling like I'm missing something important: a necessary experience that I've put off far too long. My love life had been barren and bleak for years, I deserve to be happy," Erza said sadly, hanging her head.

"But you were Happy," Lucy said thoughtfully, "remember? You and he switched bodies and you technically _were_ Happy for a little while there."

Erza laughed, not a forced laugh or one of her practiced giggles, but a genuine laugh that made her feel like rolling around on the floor and clutching at her stomach. She laughed until tears fell, and she managed to get a hold of her faculties.

"I see your point, though I think you know what I'm talking about," Erza said.

"I know, but you can't let yourself get sad or worked up over those things, you have to let them go and just keep moving forward! Just think, you met Julius purely by chance! These chance encounters are what make life special, so never live them down, ok? And I'll be there just in case, so don't worry about a thing," Lucy said happily.

A couple hours of boredom passed, in which Lucy disposed of the majority of Erza's flashcards and ran through some of the more casual ones with her before the date at 1 o'clock. Erza, however, soon became overly flustered with each passing minute and could hardly contain her nervousness.

"Calm down, Erza," Lucy said, "take a deep breath and just relax."

"You relax," Erza said, "I'm relaxed already! I'm fine! I have a date! Where's your date? Huh? Oh, you don't have one! Maybe if you did you'd understand how immensely nervous I feel!"

"Oooook. Well, I think we should stop with the flashcards and maybe go over a few pointers," Lucy said, trying to appease the Requip Mage.

"First off, be yourself," Lucy said.

"Who else would I be?!"

"The second part is to put your best foot forward."

"Neither of my feet is better or worse than the other!"

"And finally, try to find things in common, otherwise you'll just be sitting there in silence. Also, this is a first date so you'll need to tell him a bit about yourself," Lucy said, ignoring Erza's hysterics.

"This is not our first date," Erza said, "this is our second! He may even kiss me this time!"

"A little early for that, I think," Lucy said.

"Since when are you the expert of-"

Erza broke off when Lucy raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side quizzically.

"Right, you're the expert here, nevermind," Erza conceded.

"Alright, it's twelve thirty now, so you should probably get a move on if you don't want to be late," Lucy said.

"Of course," Erza said, reexamining herself in the mirror before she turned to her friend.

"How do I look," Erza asked, sweat beading her forehead.

"You look great," Lucy said, "remember, take a breath, be yourself, and confidence is key. Go get him, man-eater!"

Erza smiled.

'A maneater, huh,' she thought to herself, 'yes, this mindset is fitting, as I am on the hunt. I will seek out my prey… at the café!'

Fixing a determined look on her face, Erza turned and walked out the door as Lucy watched her go.

"C'mon, Lucy," Erza called, startling the blonde, "let's go!"

"Coming," Lucy said sadly, following Erza from the apartment and shutting the door behind her.

Lucy allowed herself to be led through the guild hall, taking careful steps and keeping a watchful eye upon Erza, whom Lucy knew would scold her if she came within twenty feet of her during the mission, for that's what this was for Lucy: a mission.

'I should've charged Erza for this,' Lucy thought jokingly, 'my rent is due in less than a week.'

They walked through the guild, many onlookers watching their odd behavior, but knowing better than to question the Fairy Queen and her methods. Lucy trailed along, keeping her eyes fixed upon the path ahead of her and the long mane of scarlet hair she used as a marker for Erza. With Lucy in tow, Erza took them through the winding corridors, through several large, cloistered courtyards and out the front door of the castle-like guild hall. She led Lucy down the steps, across the canal and past the great central cathedral, winding her way deeper and deeper into the town. They passed shops, magic stores, weapon stores, fancy restaurants and just about every kind of merchant on the way as they made the trek to Magnolia Square Gardens, which were lined with a variety of cafes, diners, flower shops and other attractions. Lucy was walking when suddenly Erza was gone. Lucy looked all over and slowed to a halt before she turned in a circle, making sure there was no flash of red on either side. Lucy swallowed past a lump in her throat and shivered a little.

"Oh no," she moaned to herself, "I've lost Erza."

Lucy took a look around, then remembered that she knew Erza's destination, if she ran, she might catch up before Erza noticed anything! Lucy readied herself, and then began to sprint. As she passed an alleyway, however, a hand shot out and caught her, pulling her into it with nary a struggle. Erza clamped a hand over Lucy's mouth to prevent her from screaming and then peaked outside to make sure no one had seen.

"Twenty one seconds," Erza said quietly, "I had disappeared for twenty one seconds before I grabbed you! I could've rounded a corner and you'd never have known!"

"Sorry," Lucy said, "I'm just a bit distracted, and I'm so tired, I may need another cup of coffee…"

"You're right. I'm sorry, but this nervousness is getting to me," Erza confessed, "maybe I should just skip the date. I'm not sure this was a good idea."

"No! Erza, you have to at least give it a try! Really, you'll never get anywhere if you keep putting this off! You need to know if you and he are good toether, and this Julius guys sounded so promising last night!"

Erza thought of Julius, and her doubts seemed to fade. His kind smile, so charming and familiar, made her feel a bit more at ease. She clenched a fist and smiled at Lucy, who, in the darkness of the alleyway, looked a bit pale.

"You're right, I really can't move forward unless I try too, and I've fought off armies of monsters, one date should be a piece of cake!"

But as they made their way into the Square, Erza felt her courage slip. She almost turned and fled, but her warrior's resolve kept her putting her feet one in front of the other.

'I am the wolf,' Erza growled within the confines of her mind, 'I am the hunter, I seek my prey… and there he is!'

Erza could make him out from across the square, where he sat at a sunlit table. Erza glanced at the nearest source of time: a large clock set within the face of a historic building, and read that it was 12:49, so Julius was early. She could make out his blonde hair, which was so bright it almost appeared white in the bright noon sunlight. She could see his figure, as he kept his head stuck in a book, pouring over it as if it were a meal and he were a starving vagrant. Erza walked along the cobblestone path that wound around the edge of the square, her fear mounting, before she walked right up to the table.

"Hi, Julius."

He stood abruptly, almost knocking over a mug of tea upon the table and he gave a slight bow.

"Hi Erza," he said nervously, giving her a roguish smile. He quickly brushed past the scarlet haired mage and pulled out a chair for her, in which she sat gracefully. Lucy, meanwhile, circled in nonchalantly from the other side and walked up to the bar of the café to order herself a light snack and some more coffee.

"You look beautiful," Julius said, taking his seat across from Erza and stowing his book in the bag at his feet.

Lucy heard Erza's trademarked practiced giggle.

"Thank you, you look rather nice yourself," Lucy heard Erza say.

"Thanks, I figured that seeing as you obliged to come on another date, I'd dress a bit nicer than last time. Had I known I was going to get the chance to eat lunch with you before, I guarantee I would've dressed a bit nicer," Julius said, "after all, it's not every day you get to go on a date with a celebrity."

Julius had a fairly youthful voice for his advanced age, and it sounded rather familiar to Lucy, who smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm no celebrity," Erza said, looking at Julius' scar.

"You are to me," he said quickly, "as an aspiring wizard, people like you are idols to me! And to think I get to go on a date with the legendary Erza! I hope you don't mind my inner fanboy, I've heard many tales about your exploits."

"Really, like what?"

"All sorts! I read about you becoming an S-Class wizard years ago, and then I began to read that you and a few others had formed the strongest team in Fairy Tail," Julius said happily.

A waiter bustled over and handed them both menus, for which they thanked him before he walked away. They perused the menus for a time, unaware that they were being watched by more than just Lucy: a mysterious hooded man with a scarf and several staves upon his back watched them from across the park, hidden amongst the branches of an enormous tree and he munched upon an apple.

'Sorry, Erza,' Jellal thought, 'but I can't just take your word that he's a nice guy… I'll be keeping an eye on this Julius. Something about him doesn't sit right with me, and I won't risk you being hurt ever again, you deserve better.'

 **Hello, all, here we have another chapter of this fanfic, for which I'll probably keep changing the name until I find the perfect one. Erza's date with Julius is now being watched by two people, I sure hope she doesn't find out about it. This fic is an experiment, I'm trying to see if I can keep things at a lower age rating than I usually do, minimize swearing, yadda yadda yadda. I'm also trying my hand at humor, so if the joke land, I guess that's a gold star to me. Thanks for reading, Fairies!**


	3. The Date

But as Jellal watched them from boughs of the great tree, he noticed something that shocked him quite a bit. While Erza was always a strong willed woman, she was so smiley and laid back around Julius that Jellal found it difficult to think she could smile so much. She seemed to be constantly giggling at every one liner and quip Julius made, and with her mounting happiness, so too did Jellal's nervousness grow. Sure, she was incredibly happy and this Julius guy made her feel amazing, but something about him just wasn't right. He seemed familiar, implacably familiar. Jellal was sure he knew him, and he quickly thought about every enemy of Fairy Tail he knew about, sure that Julius was some kind of spy or assassin, but to his surprise, no knowledge consoled him. He might have just been a familiar face.

"Mister, are you stuck up there?"

Jellal, stunned by the loud call, almost fell from the tree to turn and look down at the ground directly beneath him, where the leaves did not obscure him from passersby who happened to look up. There, at the base of the tree, was a little girl. Like Erza, she had red hair, though it was several shades darker, and her eyes were an intense green color, much like the leaves of the tree Jellal was sitting in. In order to stop the child from blowing his cover, Jellal fell from the tree and landed next to the girl, ducking behind the tree so that he was invisible to Erza and Julius.

"I'm...uh...undercover," Jellal said, "I'm observing a possible situation."

"Hey, do you wanna play hide and seek," the girl asked, completely ignoring Jellal's words.

Seeing her other friends run up to her, Jellal smiled. These children were so carefree it was hard not to feel jovial when he was around them.

"I'm sorry, but I can't right now," the hooded mage said quietly, peeking around the tree to make sure his objective had not moved.

"Awww, pwetty pwease?"

Jellal was enticed once more by the offer, and though he couldn't see it, the girl twisted a ring upon her finger behind her back. Upon the ring was a heart shaped insignia, a charm spell that would make most people blindly obey. When coupled with the effects of a young girl with an innocent smile, the effects were irresistible. Jellal's eyes went dull, and his face slackened for a moment before he smiled dimly and nodded.

"Ok," he said finally, "let's play hide and seek… but just one game."

And he was led off by the merry troop of children, whose pockets all jingled rather joyfully as they led him away from the square. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw this and smiled, knowing that she was right to pay the children to keep an eye out for Jellal, and lead him away from the date should they find him.

"All according to plan," she said with a smug grin, taking another sip of her third cup of coffee.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at how well her plans were coming into effect. The date was going smoothly, Jellal was out of the way, Erza hadn't made any signs of knowing the truth behind it all, and Julius was doing a superb job of talking his way into Erza's heart. Then again, he'd been properly trained by a certain blonde haired celestial wizard.

"So, Julius, what do you do for work," Erza asked politely.

"Uh…"

Julius seemed to fumble the question and he smiled and blushed, his eyes flickering to Lucy for a fraction of a second, who met his gaze behind Erza's back and frowned at him. They had carefully constructed the backstory and rehearsed it so that this kind of slip up didn't happen.

"I'm a wizard, actually, yeah, an air wizard. I do, y'know, wind and stuff," Julius said, quickly recovering his story.

"Oh, a wind wizard, huh? That's cool, I've met a few before, what sort of wind magic do you use?"

"Well, um, just basic wind magic, breezes, gales, stuff like that. I don't do too much of it though, it's really exhausting for me… I'm not as strong as the Fairy Tail wizards!"

"I'm sure you're being modest," Erza said, "I'd love to see some of your magic."

"I would demonstrate for you, but I was just on a job, so my magic energy is a bit low at the moment," Julius said, looking nervous.

As nervous as he looked, Lucy felt a million times so. That aspect of their plan was a little ill prepared, as their only wind wizard friend was currently occupied and would not be back in town for at least a day.

"That's fine, I don't want to push your limits… what guild are you with?"

"I'm actually not with a guild," Julius said casually, "I do freelance wizard work. It doesn't pay quite as much as a guild wizard and it can be tedious working alone, but I get by."

"That's very interesting," Erza said reaching out and gently laying her hand upon Julius', "go on, I want to hear more."

The blonde haired wind mage immediately felt somewhat uncomfortable. He hid it well, but he actually knew Erza Scarlet quite well, and being that intimate with her made him feel rather unsure of himself. Something of his feelings must have boiled over onto his features though, because Erza grinned and blushed at him.

"I apologize for my forwardness," Erza said quietly, "but I feel as though I know you so well, it's like I've known you for years…"

"Well, uh, I am a very familiar face," Julius said, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling lamely.

"Is that so?"

Erza leaned forward rested her chin in the palm of her hand with her elbow in the table, still grinning and blushing furiously.

"Uh-um, yeah, in fact on the way here, several people seemed to think I was someone they knew…"

"Here's your food, you guys…"

A waitress bustled over carrying two very large platters of lunch specials, all of which looked delectable. It seemed that both of them had quite the appetite.

"Enjoy your meal."

Erza pulled her hand from her partner's, allowing the waitress to set the food down and go back to the kitchens.

Meanwhile, with Jellal, something profoundly wrong seemed to press against his consciousness. It felt as if he had forgotten something and it was important… but what was it? It seemed to be right there in front of him, but all he saw were the children leading him farther into the town of Magnolia, away from… wherever he had been before that. A flicker of light caught his eye, and he ignored it for a time until he finally decided to look at the flickering flash of light. It was a beam of sunlight, but it was reflecting off of a ring upon the little girl's hand. A feeling of familiarity fell over him as he recognized it to be a charm spell, and with a gasp, Jellal felt his mind return to full sharpness. It was as if his senses had been dulled and he suddenly remembered where he was, whom he'd been following, and the little girl who had enchanted him. Taking the girl by the shoulder, he spun her around and knelt before her, frowning and staring into her eyes, which quickly fell to gaze at the ground.

"Who told you to do this? Who is behind this trickery?"

"No one," the girl said, clasping her hands behind her back to hide the ring once more, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Perhaps I should find your parents," Jellal said, "I am a wizard, I can use magic to find them and tell them about your immoral activities."

"Wha-NO! Don't tell my dad, he'll be sooo upset with me," the girl pleaded.

"Then tell me who made you do this."

"It was… someone from the Fairy Tail guild…"

Jellal's first thought was Erza, but then he realized how far-fetched that sounded… did she really have the foresight to do something like that? The correct answer was yes, and as she knew Jellal quite well, she would have known he'd try to tail her. But something still seemed off, Erza wasn't one for espionage, she'd have confronted him herself.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know," the girl said, "but they gave us ten jewel apiece to find and distract you, I swear that's it mister!"

"I believe you," Jellal said, "however…"

He grasped her wrist and took the charm spell ring from the girl's finger before standing up and pocketing it.

"This ring was likely given to you by the benefactor… let this be a lesson to you children, magic should never be used for nefarious purposes."

Jellal left the group of children standing in the street, looking rather grim, and unsure of the meaning of the word nefarious. He quickly began to march back to the square in which Erza and Julius were having their date in hopes of reclaiming his lost post and continuing his vigil. However, when he returned to the square, he found their table clear and he saw no signs of scarlet hair as he swept through the crowd with his sharp gaze. Even after he'd climbed the tree and searched for several minutes in silence, there was no sign. Something else caught his attention though, a beam of bright afternoon sunlight shot from the sky and struck the bar at the café where Erza and Julius had been, illuminating a head of bright blonde hair that shined golden in the sun. Jellal saw the hair, the curvaceous figure, and after a moment he recognized her as Lucy. Why was Lucy here? Now that Jellal thought about it, she had been right there throughout the entire date, though Jellal had been too focused upon Erza and Julius to notice Lucy's presence. Swinging from bough to bough, he descended from the treetop quickly, landing almost perfectly upon the stool next to Lucy's with little more than a light breeze. Lucy, having felt something shift in her immediate vicinity, turned to receive quite a fright at the hooded, masked figure appearing seemingly out of nowhere next to her.

"Idiot!"

Not exactly what Jellal expected to here from a frightened looking girl, but he didn't expect the sharp slug to his shoulder either. He rubbed the spot where she'd punched him and watched as she fell back into her stool, clutching her heart and breathing heavily.

"Don't… don't go sneaking up on me like that, I'm… way too tired too… focus right now…"

"Sorry, Lucy, I wasn't trying to scare you," Jellal said quietly, casting eyes this way and that, just in case.

"So, what brings you here," Lucy asked, leaning against the counter and swilling the last dregs of her who-knew-how-many-eth cup of coffee.

"The same thing that brought you here," Jellal said mischievously, "Erza's date."

After placing an order for some coffee, Jellal waited for both his drink, and for some sort of response from Lucy, who had the owner of the café fill her cup as well.

"I'm not here by choice," Lucy said finally, pouring creams and sugars into her coffee without pause.

"Then why are you here?"

"Erza asked me here," Lucy mumbled, "she wanted help getting ready for the date. I was supposed to watch and listen and make sure she didn't screw it up."

"So Erza brought you on for counseling… I guess that makes sense. But why did you pay off children to head me off," Jellal asked quietly.

Lucy grew still and she stared at nothing in particular, as if formulating an answer. She took a large gulp of her coffee and after taking a shaky breath, she spoke.

"That wasn't me, that must've been Erza," Lucy said simply.

"I doubt Erza would resort to something so intricate to keep me out of the way," Jellal retorted darkly.

"Well, perhaps you don't know her as well as you think you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Pardon my straightforwardness, but it means that you and Erza have barely seen each other over the years… she was gone for seven years, and you two have grown farther and farther apart. You've become so obsessed with redemption that you refuse to open your eyes and see that she doesn't hold you responsible, while Erza is so frustrated with her position and so scared of being alone she's begun the process of changing herself just to find a man who will take her off the market. You should've seen it coming if you ask me," Lucy said tiredly, as if explaining that two plus two is four.

"So what, suddenly I don't know Erza? I think that's a bit much," Jellal said confidently.

But for all his confidence, he still felt a grain of truth in Lucy's words. He'd thought Erza to be gone for seven years after all, his resolve had waned at times.

"I don't, I think it's perfectly normal. If the only man I ever loved completely threw aside my advances and made me feel worthless I'd do whatever it took to find someone who would never do that to me. And now it seems like Erza's found herself a decent guy, and you suddenly feel like throwing your lot into the bunch, like you can just come and go as you please. It makes you look like you don't care about Erza's feelings at all, and I think you just being here makes her upset and confused."

"So you're saying that I should leave," Jellal asked bitterly, his face rather sour beneath his mask, "that I should just forget about Erza and leave her with this Julius?"

Lucy fixed Jellal with a very serious look and Jellal couldn't help but lean back slightly. It was a very dark look, and the fact that Lucy had dark bags under her eyes, messy hair and a cold fire burning in her irises made him very wary of the celestial wizard's power. Sure, Jellal was in incredibly powerful wizard, but he alone was no match for ten of the thirteen Zodiac.

"I'm saying that if Julius truly makes Erza happy, you had best leave the two of them alone, or I will hold you solely responsible for Erza's loneliness, which has done nothing but grow over the years, and when she comes to me to vent I will simply point my finger at you and let her tear you to shreds herself," Lucy said sweetly.

"I'm not scared of Erza," Jellal said, his voice cracking as a bead of sweat ran from his temple.

Lucy, who was leaning over her coffee suddenly jolted, putting her face inches from Jellal's. The mysterious man gave a rather unmanly cry and almost fell from his stool before Lucy roughly pulled him back onto it.

"If you're scared of me, then you are definitely scared of Erza," she said before draining her cup and sliding it toward the edge of the café's bar.

Lucy stood from her stool and stretched before slowly walking away, intending to go and try and start her day off right with a hot shower and a crossword puzzle to help her brain start up.

"This guy has got my tab," Lucy said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at Jellal as she spoke to the café owner.

"That'll be one hundred jewel," the wizened old woman said to the stationary guildmage.

But even as Jellal dug through his coin purse, Erza and Julius were making their way past the Kardia Cathedral. Julius, the suitor and 'perfect' gentleman, had asked Erza's permission to walk her home after their date. Erza, who had no problem traversing the town, was unsure for a moment.

"You think I can't walk back by myself," Erza had asked him, raising an eyebrow as they set off from the park together.

"I know you can," Julius said, blushing furiously, "but I'd like to spend a little more time with you before we have to part ways."

Erza allowed it, and together they leisurely strolled through the streets of Magnolia, taking their time and moving in a winding pattern so as to prolong their time together. They spoke of unimportant things, but perhaps the fact that they were able to keep the conversation flowing is what was truly important. As all good things do, their evening walk ended, leaving them standing and facing each other upon the top steps of the guild hall in the dying light of the sun.

"I had an amazing time today," Erza said happily, "do you think I can see you again soon?"

"I certainly hope so. I'm afraid my current schedule is a bit hectic though. I'll write you and we can try and work out another date then."

Julius paused for a moment before frowning and blushing again.

"I mean, uh, was this a date? I mean, it felt like one, but-"

"Of course it was," Erza said, leaning in closer to Julius. They were so close now that they could feel each other's heat, as if the bright red patches upon their faces were actually burning. Their lips were moments away from meeting, and just before the contact.

"Huh," Erza said, her eyes wide as she held thin air. Julius had somehow squirmed out of Erza's grip and was smiling with his eyes closed as he talked incredibly fast.

"WellIguessI'llseeyoulaterbyeErza!"

And like that, he began to run down the steps of the Fairy Tail guild hall, leaving Erza to look after him, still gripping the air with her lips pursed.

About half an hour later, Lucy was sitting in her bathtub, relaxing with a copy of Sorcerer Weekly and another cup of coffee. She didn't know why, but it felt like she had lost a crucial moment of sleep that she would never get back. The bathroom was dimly lit save for a few candles surrounding the tub and the soapy water had lost its intense heat, leaving Lucy pruny in tepid waters. A knock upon the door to her apartment gave her a bit of a shock and she quickly stood from the tub, hiding from the chill of the cool night air by wrapping a robe around herself. After peering through the door's peep hole to see who had come to call, Lucy pulled it open just enough so that she could stick her head out the door.

"What are you doing here," Lucy hissed, looking down the stairs that lead to the ground floor, making sure no one else was present.

"I just wanted to make sure there was nothing else to do before I took all of this off," said a tall, blonde man.

Julius Leengard, the man whom had gone on a date with Erza Scarlet, was at the door of Lucy's apartment.

"No, nothing else," Lucy said, keeping her voice low and opening the door a bit more.

She crossed her arms, leaned against the doorframe, and gave a sly smirk as she looked Julius up and down.

"Ok, good, but there's something you should know…"

"What's that," Lucy asked sharply.

"Before my date with Erza ended… well, she-uh- she tried to kiss me," Julius stammered, looking at the ground and looking immensely uncomfortable.

"Haha, oh geez, really? We may have to advance the plan to the next phase," Lucy scoffed, "Jellal took the bait I set for him, too, so I think there's no point in waiting. Did you two schedule the next date?"

"No," Julius said, "I left that open, like I was supposed to, but even with that…."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not telling me something," Lucy sighed, a rather stale, fixed smile sliding into place as her eyes became rather cold.

"Well-uh-when she tried to kiss me I sort of chickened out, heheh…heh," Julius laughed lamely, sweat beading his brow as he watched the smile on Lucy's face turn into a scowl.

Lucy grabbed Julius by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him close, making him shrink away from her as her hot breath made his neck tingle. She put her lips by his ear, but far from the contact being loving, it made the skin prickle in the back of the man's neck.

"You knew the risks of the plan when you got involved," Lucy said quietly, "we agreed that this was for the best, you've seen how Erza has been. I'll be arranging another date as soon as I have the time to write up a letter to send to her, and this time if you flinch, if I sense any hesitation, I will make sure that you are solely to blame for any complications. I don't care if Erza and you are close, make sure you play your part well for her. She deserves better, doesn't she?"

Julius nodded frantically, a determined frown upon his face. Lucy smiled and let go of his collar before stepping back into her apartment.

"Then next time make sure you go through with your acting, she has to believe Julius Leengard exists if we're gonna pull this off. Go back to the hotel, make sure you wash the makeup off your face and then you can go home. And don't forget to check that you aren't being followed," Lucy whispered, holding a finger to her lips.

"Uh, yeah, goo-good night, L-Lucy."

Far from fearful, Julius was smiling and pink in the face as blood ran from his nostrils. Following his gaze, Lucy realized that her robe's sash had come loose and was revealing ample amounts of cleavage.

"Kya!"

With a cry, Lucy slammed the door shut as light, airheaded giggling could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Why don't you put a little of that pervy attitude towards making Erza like you, idiot," Lucy called before she stomped back into her bathroom to draw up another hot tub of water.

 **What's this? An update? Gasp! Yes, welcome one and all to this fanfiction. Sorry it took so long, I've been very busy. This chapter is rather short, but a plot of sorts is beginning to unfold around Erza Scarlet and Jellal; what could it possibly be? And why does Lucy, of all people, seem to be spearheading this scheme? I suppose there's only one way to find out, and that's by checking back whenever the heck you feel like it!**

 **On a somewhat related topic, is there anyone that would be willing to act as an editor for my writing? I read through these pages over and over, but I can't ever seem to find all the typos. You would, of course, get sneak peaks of my work and would be asked to read through and fix any mistakes before it went up for public viewing. If interested, PM me and we can make an arrangement.**


	4. Teaming Up

The next day, Erza was positively prancing about the guild hall. Even though her kiss with Julius has been interrupted by his sudden departure, she still felt that the date had been a rousing success. Lucy entered the guild hall around noon, looking tired, but also rather pleased with herself. She took a seat at the bar and Mira whipped up a large, healthy breakfast; and after seeing how Lucy looked like she was about to topple off of her stool, she simply put a large pot of coffee right next to the blonde's breakfast platter.

"Aw, thanks, Mira, you're the best," Lucy said gratefully.

"It's the least I could do, how did your mission with Erza go yesterday," Mira asked.

"Mission," Lucy asked blankly.

"Yeah, it looked like you guys were about to take on a job. Must've been a tough one, too. Erza was all dolled up and I could've sworn that you were counting the paces between the two of you as you marched through the guild hall! It certainly looked like a mission," Mira noted thoughtfully.

"Actually," Lucy said, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips, "I was just escorting Erza to a date."

"A-a date? Wow, I didn't know that she battle marched to dates. She must've been really excited, but who's the guy?"

"A freelance wizard," Lucy said, waving her hand and looking down at the breakfast platter, "not from around here."

"It's gotta be tough being a freelance wizard," Mira said quietly, "less work, harder to spread the word, and you're limited by the connections you can make on your own. Well, at least Erza's not just dating a guy because he's rich!"

"Of course not, what a ridiculous notion," said a voice right behind Lucy.

She turned, and she saw Erza there, but far from looking angry, Erza looked incredibly ecstatic. She wore a light summer dress and comfortable shoes, but her eyes seemed to be filled with a new light.

"Wow, you're in a great mood, Erza," Mira said with a wide smile.

"Thanks, Mira, I've taken a leaf out of your book with my dress! I just feel like I'm more of a woman now than I've ever been," Erza trilled, twirling upon the spot.

"You look amazing," Mira said kindly, "so who's the lucky guy? Lucy only told me that he's a freelance wizard."

"His name is Julius Leengard," Erza said, "and he's the most caring, compassionate, wonderful-"

While Erza proclaimed her affections for Julius and listed off his many wonderful traits, Mira scratched at her chin in a thoughtful manner, her eyes narrowed as she wondered where she'd heard that name before.

"Leengard? That name is familiar… I'll have to look for it in the genealogy books in the guild's library," Mira said.

"I thought the same thing when Erza told me his name, but I haven't found anything on it when I checked," Lucy said quickly, hoping to discourage Mira's meddling.

"Hmm. Well, if you haven't found anything, I suppose I certainly won't. You and Levy are the guild's resident bookworms, after all!"

Lucy held in a relieved sigh as Erza took a seat next to her, still gushing over Julius.

"I swear, he might have run away from me when I tried to kiss him, but something must've gone incredibly right, because I got a letter from him this morning asking for another date," Erza finished as Mira listened politely and made Erza lunch.

"Wow, he ran away when you tried to kiss him," Mira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but still, I think he is just a little timid. A bit more time and I think he'll come around,"  
Erza chimed, looking extremely sure of herself.

"So when's the next date," Lucy asked.

Of course, Lucy knew the answer to the question, she'd been up late last night and early that morning carefully crafting the letter that Erza had gotten from Julius. It was perfect, well written, and it was created so that Erza, the overthinking, head-strong warrior queen of Fairy Tail wouldn't be able to help feeling loved after reading it.

"Sometime next week, not sure exactly when or where though," Erza replied happily.

"So, Lucy, when are you going to start playing the field? You have a house, a job, a good social life… why don't you try to find a nice guy," Mirajane asked, putting a hand to her cheek and looking innocently sweet, even though her nosiness ruined the effect.

"Mira has a point, Lucy," Erza said wisely, as if her two dates had made her an expert in the field, "you should find yourself a man and settle down."

"I'm a bit young to just settle down," Lucy said loudly, almost choking on her coffee.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

"Grey, you're naked," Erza said in a flat tone, not even bothering to look at the ice wizard that had come over.

"What the hell-HOW DID YOU KNOW," Grey asked loudly.

"Because, it always gets cold in here when you strip," Mira said, blushing and looking away from Grey as he struggled to find his pants.

"Oh, geez, I can't even come and say hi without having the guild's streaker turn up," Natsu said unhappily as he joined the group and took a seat next to Lucy.

"Those are some awful big words for you, Natsu," Grey said, "have you been taking private lessons with Lucy or something?"

"Shut up," Natsu and Lucy cried in unison.

Lucy brought her fist down upon Grey's head while Natsu did the same with the opposite hand and Grey sat down hard, his eyes unfocused as he watched imaginary birds fly in circles.

"You seem unusually defensive," Erza said, verbally stoking the fires of Lucy's temper, "people would think you and Natsu were an item."

"Very funny, Erza," Natsu said accusingly, "but from what I've heard, you managed to find yourself a guy as well… a certain air wizard named Julius?"

Natsu's question was less that and more of a statement, and he crossed his arms as he spoke, his tone carrying heavy hints of another point he wanted to make.

"Yes," Erza said, "that's correct. Is there something you wished to discuss about Julius?"

"I don't trust him," Natsu said suddenly, looking Erza in the eye, "the guy doesn't smell right to me. I think you should take it slow with him, cause there's more to him than we know."

"Natsu, you can't just deem someone untrustworthy because of the way they smell," Erza said dismissively, turning away from the Fire Dragon Slayer, "besides, you've never even met him!"

"I don't know, Erza," Lucy said quietly, "Natsu's gut instincts have been proven right time and again."

"So what exactly are you insinuating," Erza asked, her tone much less friendly.

"Nothing," Lucy said quickly, waving a hand and leaving the bar to escape from the intense pressure that Erza exuded.

Across the long, expansive guild hall, Lucy saw her good friend, Levy. The short, blue haired script wizard was, as usual, pouring over a book as Jet and Droy fought over who cared for Levy more. Lucy, however, found their quarrel much less grating than the one slowly building behind her between Erza and Natsu. As Lucy made for her friend's table, which was loaded with books, she tuned out the shouting behind her.

"Hi there, Levy, mind if I take a seat?"

"No, of course not. Come sit by me, the books will muffle all the yelling," Levy said brightly, looking up with a smile.

Lucy did as she was bidden, but the harsh words Natsu and Erza hurled back and forth were still louder than anything else in the guild hall.

"At least I have one friend that isn't completely nuts," Lucy said with a smirk as she peered over the books at a fiery Natsu and a red-faced Erza.

"Yeah, they can be a chore," Levy said, "but you love 'em anyway, right? The closest thing to family we have is Fairy Tail."

"Good point," Lucy said, laying her head down upon a pile of books and taking in the musty, comforting scent of their pages. Levy looked at Lucy over the top of her glasses, seeing her anguish before carefully marking her page, setting aside her book and her reading glasses, and bracingly clapping Lucy on the shoulder.

"C'mon Lucy, cheer up! I know, why don't we go on a job, just the two of us! You haven't done any since that last big one," Levy suggested.

"Ugh… I can't, Levy."

"What? Why," the script wizard asked, her eyebrows raised.

"It's a secret," Lucy said quietly, lifting her head and whispering.

For a moment, the Celestial wizard's eyes flickered to Droy and Jet, who were still bickering behind them.

"Boys," Levy said loudly, making Droy and Jet halt their squabble in its tracks to attend to Levy, "I need more books! These ones aren't quite right for my needs, they're more theoretical. I need books on application!"

"Yes ma'am," they pair said in unison before racing off to the library.

"Ok, we're alone," Levy whispered, looking around, "so why can't you go on a job?"

"Ooooh, Levy, I wanna tell you, I really do, but I can't," Lucy grumbled thumping her head upon the pile of books.

"Aww, c'mon Lucy, pretty please?"

But from across the room, a shining light flared up as a fire engulfed the area where Natsu and Erza's bickering had become escalated. Lucy pulled her head up just in time to see Natsu's back as he was thrown at her by some unseen force.

"Get down," Lucy yelled, grabbing Levy and dragging her from the table's bench so as to avoid the howling Natsu. He skidded across the table, and with a muffled cry he landed upon Lucy, who had valiantly saved Levy from the heavy blow.

"Ow," Lucy moaned, her body crushed against the floor by Natsu's densely muscled form.

Erza stomped over, kicking through the books that had fallen to the floor and grabbed the dazed Natsu by his collar, lifting him into the air.

"Any other opinions you'd like to share," she asked menacingly, looking at Natsu's dark eyes.

The Fire Dragon Slayer stared back, the fire within him burning over as he once more expressed his stance.

"No… just make sure that when I'm proven right you apologize, cause I can almost guarantee that there's something wrong with this Julius guy. He smells like he's hiding something."

But while Natsu's words only enraged Erza to the point that she dropped him and stormed out of the guild hall, someone else heard those words as he skulked in the corner, listening to the goings on of the Fairy Tail guild. It was Jellal, once more disguised as Mystogan, and when he overheard the Fire Dragon Slayer's warning, his stomach dropped, for that was the exact way Jellal felt about Julius: a sense of uncertain distrust. At first the fugitive had tried to dismiss it as a feeble excuse to justify his jealousy. He saw it as a pathetic attempt to sabotage a relationship between Erza and her mysterious new boyfriend. But now Natsu was claiming to have sensed the same thing, and if Jellal had been pressed, he honestly wasn't sure he could've articulated the thought any better than Natsu just had.

"Natsu Dragneel."

The Salamander felt a shiver run down his spine as the quiet voice behind him spoke. It was deep and gruff, and all too familiar. Along with the scent that pervaded Natsu's nostrils, he knew who it was before he'd even turned around.

"Jellal," Natsu whispered, "what do you want?"

"You knew it was me," Jellal asked, wondering if he'd forgotten to put on his mask.

"I can smell you," Natsu said darkly, glancing at the open doors through which Erza had marched through moments earlier.

"Natsu, I must ask you something, can we speak in private?"

The salmon haired youth did not look at all like his fiery, happy-go-lucky self, but he still nodded and followed Jellal up to his S-class quarters, where Jellal placed a magical seal upon the door to remove any chance of being overheard.

"What do you want," Natsu asked again taking a seat upon the couch without asking and crossing his arms.

Jellal took a seat upon the fluffy reclining chair opposite Natsu and leaned forward, looking tense and nervous while Natsu reclined lazily upon the sofa.

"I wish to speak to you about Erza," the masked man said.

The statement made Natsu scrutinize Jellal with a blank gaze, though there was something else there as well…was Natsu afraid?

'I suppose he doesn't quite trust me, yet,' Jellal thought as he assembled the proposal in his head.

"Natsu, I listened in on your argument with Erza, and I think you may be on to something," Jellal said, "furthermore, if it's alright by you, I think the two of us should try to keep an eye upon Erza and her new… acquaintance."

As much of a man as Jellal was, he found himself unable to call Julius Erza's boyfriend, even if he knew that they were together. The thought made him unhappy and deeply unsettled.

"So, you believe me," Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow and looking inquisitively at the robed wizard.

"I do, and as I am concerned for Erza's wellbeing, I think we should watch her," Jellal said again.

"What if you're just jealous?"

A smile pulled at the corner of Natsu's lips. It seemed his reputation for being a reckless hothead extended to the honest telling of his view of the world.

"I thought that myself, and so I shelved my suspicions for Erza's sake… I've decided that if she is truly happy with another man, I have no right to interject. But now that there's someone else who shares my opinion I can no longer stand idly by. I'm not suggesting we ruin their relationship," Jellal hastily added in response to Natsu's scowl, "but we could… I don't know… run a background check or something, just to be sure Julius is who he claims to be. What do you say, Natsu?"

"I was looking forward to Erza realizing I was right on her own so that she would have to come apologize for throwing me across the guild hall," Natsu growled, "but I suppose I can help the process along. Where do we start looking?"

"Erza was excited about receiving a letter from Julius. We should keep our ears open for any other communication between the two, and intercept anything that would provide details as to their next date. Even so, we must still move cautiously, someone anticipated my surveillance last time. Whoever it was made it seem like they were two steps ahead of me, no matter how stealthy I was," Jellal explained quietly, leaning forward.

Natsu was drawn in by the espionage of Jellal's actions, and so he leaned forward too, listening raptly and thinking about ways to intercept mail.

"I don't think we really have any chance of getting our hands of Erza's mail unless we bust into the post office and steal it," Natsu said, shaking his head.

"My thoughts exactly," Jellal agreed, rubbing a hand upon his face so as to wipe away his frustrations, "but if we could simply read the letter remotely via a Seer's Lacrima…"

"Too expensive," Natsu said, "the last one I saw was over 50,000 jewel. Why don't we just wait for Erza to brag about her next date and case her apartment for the letter when she's not home. Security's pretty lax because she figures no one would dare steal from 'Titania, Queen of the Fairies'."

"Yes," Jellal said suddenly, "we'll simply enter her house and make a magical copy of the letter, leaving everything undisturbed. Are you sure she leaves her door unlocked?"

"Oh, yeah," Natsu said with a smile, "she never really locks it, and even if she did, there's always a window."

"Alright then, seeing as you draw less attention, simply lay low and stay close to Erza for a few days, and listen for any hint of another letter from Julius," Jellal summarized, looking to Natsu for confirmation.

To his surprise, Natsu had wrapped his head in his scarf so as to obscure his face, and he spoke in a low, stealthy voice.

"Operation: Infiltrate the Fairy Queen's Palace is under way, Mystery Man, over and out."

 **What, another piece of an incomplete fanfic you thought was dead? Yeah, that seems to be the general concensus when it comes to my writing. I've been rather busy, what with car troubles, and the works, but you guys don't wanna hear about that... anyway, here we see a bit more of the plot unfold (if you can call it a plot) and Natsu and Jellal are working together to figure out the identity of the air wizard Julius. I'm hoping for a more driven chapter next go round. I have an idea or two, but who knows, things rarely translate perfectly from thought to written word. Over and out my fellow wizards.**


	5. On the Scent

The next few days passed rather quickly for most of the Fairy Tail guild, but for Jellal and Natsu the wait was far from exciting. Erza, much to their dismay, remained in the guild hall for hours at a time, talking with friends, and hanging out with Fairy Tail's Strongest team. As that team also included Natsu, he was forced to remain in close proximity to Erza while Jellal watch from afar, generally with a drink in his hand.

"Julius and I have been communicating through the postal service," Erza would say to her friends, "I know it's a little outdated and magic is much faster, but there's something so genuine about hand writing a letter to someone you care about."

"Any news on the date," Natsu asked happily, feigning excitability to remain above suspicion.

"Not yet, apparently he's working a job that's a bit tougher than expected. He should be back soon though," Erza replied, not noticing Natsu's smile slide off of his face as he turned to Jellal's corner and shook his head.

With a sigh, Jellal waved over Mira, intent upon ordering another drink so as to make the night pass a little more smoothly.

Two more days passed and Jellal, sure that Erza would simply wander the guild hall in a rather aimless manner for the third day in a row, instead found Erza talking animatedly to Fairy Tail's strongest team. Grey, Lucy and Natsu were all present, along with Wendy, Charle and Happy.

"Anyway, I got a letter from him, and I guess we'll be meeting tomorrow for a home cooked meal at his place," Erza said as Jellal walked by slowly, still shrouded, as ever, in the guise of Mystogan.

"Excuse me, everyone," Jellal muttered, standing at the end of the table, "do you mind if I borrow Natsu for a few minutes?"

Grey, Erza, Charle, Natsu and Happy all looked rather surprised by the request, but Erza and Lucy seemed to find the whole thing rather fishy. Erza crossed her arms and Lucy sipped at her soda, looking at Jellal with a strangely knowing look before once more turning her gaze downward.

"Why do you need Natsu," Erza asked suddenly, her eyes narrowing, "what are you up to, Mystogan?"

"Well, you see-" Jellal began.

"We're going to go petition the Master," Natsu said suddenly.

"Is that so… what for," Erza rebutted.

"For… erm-"

"It's an issue for the men of Fairy Tail," Jellal chimed in, "you see, our bathrooms are sub-par."

"Your bathrooms-" Lucy choked.

"Sub-par-" Erza queried.

"Oh, yeah," Grey said quickly, "those things are pretty nasty. Make sure Gramps hires someone to clean them regularly."

"Ewww," Wendy said with a furrowed brow, "are they really that bad?"

"Worse than you could possibly imagine," Jellal growled, fixing Wendy with a paralyzing stare before grabbing Natsu by the elbow and ushering him up the stairs and into the depths of the guild hall.

They searched for a short time, constantly looking up and down long, empty corridors, hoping they didn't meet anyone. Once they finally reached the room marked with fine bronze fittings on the door that spelled out 'E. Scarlet' Jellal placed a hand upon the door and let out a pulse of detection magic.

"What are you doing," Natsu whispered, his scarf once more wrapped around his head like some sort of ninja.

"I'm checking for magical deterrence or detection spells," Jellal uttered, "it seems you were right, there's nothing there… and the door is unlocked, too."

Jellal opened the door and it swung open silently, creeping into the room upon the balls of his feet; Natsu attempted to replicate him and nearly fell over in the process.

"Look at this place," Natsu said quietly, looking over the once pristine and well kempt room.

It was now covered in long sheets of white parchment paper, upon which were many handwritten notes and letters. There must've been hundreds of them. A few, it seemed, were from Julius. The rest were rough drafts, second drafts, third, fourth and fifth drafts of Erza's replies. There were plates upon her fine oak writing desk, the food untouched as if she'd been pouring over letters for hours at a time. The wastebasket was overflowing, too, but in the center of the desk was a neatly aligned piece of paper laying in a bare spot that seemed almost ceremonial. Jellal walked up and gently scooped it up, noting how it had once been neatly folded but now was quite flat, as if it'd been read and re-read ever since it'd been opened. At the bottom of the page, signed in a large, slanting script was the name 'Julius'.

"Natsu, I have it," Jellal said, quickly taking out a piece of paper he'd brought along and placing it over Julius' letter.

With a wave of his hand, the letter seemed to soak through the blank page, as if the ink used to write it was still wet. With a smirk, Jellal folded up the copy and stowed in away in his robes.

"Hey, Je- I mean, Mystogan, we've got company," Natsu hissed, closing the door to the hallway and gripping Jellal by the front of his robes, looking deathly afraid.

"What do you mean-"

"Erza," Natsu whispered through gritted teeth, tears in his eyes, "I can't die like this, Jellal!"

"Hold on tightly," Jellal said suddenly as Erza's voice became closer and more understandable with every step.

Without waiting for a reply, Jellal grabbed a hold of Natsu, and together they shined bright as a star before shooting off in a beam of celestial light. Erza bade her guild mate farewell as she entered her room, but something seemed off… it was far too hot in there.

"Ugh," she groaned, "I can't believe I left the window open with this heat."

On the roof, Jellal and Natsu gave each other a wide grin and a thumbs up as they heard the window slam shut. Silently, Jellal once more turned into a shooting star, dragging Natsu along for the ride. Natsu, who'd never tried to read a letter while being flown around by the scruff of his shirt at supersonic speeds, suddenly found it was a rather futile endeavor, so the two of them landed upon the roof of Kardia Cathedral. Several stunned birds took flight as they landed rather haphazardly, Jellal almost tripping over Natsu as the Dragon Slayer tried to tuck and roll.

"Alright Natsu, look for an address. From what Erza said, he invited her to his house for a home cooked meal," Jellal panted, looking out over Magnolia, which was quite beautiful on the bright, sunny day.

"Ok, give me a minute," Natsu replied, looking over the paper with scrutiny and focus not fitting his usual level of anarchy and hot-headedness.

Jellal waited silently as he regained his breath. Flying around by himself was one thing, but carrying a very densely muscled wizard with him as well made it very difficult to maintain. After vowing to work more on the flying technique, as it had proved rather useful for a clean escape, Jellal was startled when Natsu gave a triumphant shout.

"I got it," Natsu said gleefully, "the address is 'Julius Leengard, Care Of the Grand Magnolia Hotel and Resort, Room 777.'"

"The Grand Magnolia Hotel and Resort," Jellal asked, "what is that?"

"It's a new tourist-y place, I think," Natsu said, scratching at his chin thoughtfully, "I think they built it while we were fighting in the Grand Magic Games."

"So you know where it is," the robed wizard asked sharply, looking out over Magnolia with a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Yeah, it's down at the port somewhere," Natsu said gleefully, "they were gonna put in a waterpark… the construction on it might be done, actually!"

"We can't go swimming Natsu, we're working a job, remember?"

"Yeah, but we aren't getting paid for it, are we? What's wrong with taking a dip before we case out this 'Julius' guy's room," Natsu asked.

And so, twenty minutes later, Jellal was reclined in a lawn chair next to a fine indoor pool as Natsu splashed around and made noise, completely unaware of the disgruntled looks from those nearest him. Jellal, whose identity was carefully concealed behind his mask, still drew a bit of attention as well. After all, what sort of man undressed, leaving only swimming trunks and a mask? Ordinarily, he might've put up a bit more resistance to Natsu playing in the pool, but Jellal's flight in with the Fire Dragon Slayer had drained quite a bit of magic power and made him feel rather weak and vulnerable… not exactly something you want when you are about commit trespass.

"That's enough, Natsu," the masked wizard said, placing his hands upon his hips and stretching as he got to his feet, "out of the water! We have things to do."

"Awww, c'mon man, just a few more minutes!"

"No, out of the water. Now, Natsu."

"Ugh, fine," Natsu griped, climbing out of the pool and joining Jellal in the locker rooms to get washed dried and dressed. They made their way to the lobby, where they stood for a moment admiring the large, open hotel and its flawless construction.

"Oh man, this has gotta be four stars at least," Natsu said excitedly, a cacophony of interesting fragrances assaulting his nostrils.

"Alright, you said room 777, right?"

"Yeah, but how are we gonna find it? Oh, let's ask the desk lady," Natsu said suddenly, making for the desk before being grabbed by his scruff and dragged back by the man dressed as Fairy Tail's Mystogan.

"Hey, that hurts! I couldn't say it because of strangulation on the fly-in, but my neck really freaking hurts, man!"

"Think, Natsu," Jellal whispered, "if we get seen breaking and entering after inquiring as to the room number, the desk clerk will know exactly what we look like. There has to be some kind of guide. Look for an information center or a help desk with brochures. Also, stay away from any Seer Lacrimas, and if you spot any, don't let them get a look at your face."

"Jellal, listen, I get that your worried, but you need to relax. If you act guilty and suspicious, that's gonna ring more alarm bells than any amount of asking where a room is."

And with that, Natsu strode up to the front desk with a grin and an excited spark in his eye. The lady at the desk returned his wide smile and Jellal couldn't help but be impressed by Natsu's image. Instead of looking like a worried trouble maker, he looked like someone who was just checking in.

"Hi, I'm here to visit someone," Natsu said, "can you tell us where to find… uh…"

He consulted the letter for a moment before continuing.

"Room 777? Julius Leengard's room?"

After a few quick taps upon the interface of her Archive Lacrima, she smiled again and gave Natsu and Jellal directions.

"Ok, thanks for your help," Natsu said, walking toward the elevators, where people came and went from the hotel in droves.

"I suppose the novelty hasn't quite worn off," Jellal muttered.

They ascended several floors, people exiting the elevator at each one until they finally reached the top, where the windows gave way to a wide, sweeping view of Magnolia. It would've looked better to Natsu, but after having flown over it at insane speed while being dragged by his collar, he found the view to be rather nauseating. They walked through corridor after corridor of endless doors, the hardwood floors gleaming brightly in the light of the sun.

"Hold up," Natsu said suddenly, holding out an arm to keep Jellal behind him.

"What," Jellal asked, wondering what had prompted such action from the salmon haired wizard.

"I can smell him," Natsu answered quietly.

"He's here?"

"No, but we should be careful."

They swept forward upon the balls of their feet, expertly avoiding making any unneeded noise as they crept towards the door labelled '777'. Natsu, being the expert tracker, took the lead, and Jellal followed closely behind. They were standing upon either side of the doorway preparing for a breach when a quiet thud was heard from inside the room. Jellal's eyes widened and Natsu blanched.

"I thought you said no one was in there," Jellal said quietly.

Natsu was about to reply when the sound of a loud thump echoed from within the room and Jellal hurled a comet of magical energy at the door, blasting it open and rushing inside, Natsu following suit.

"I was right," Natsu huffed, "there's no one here.

"The windows open," Jellal supplied, rushing over and sticking his masked head out of the window. He looked down, and then up and finally off into the horizon, seeing and hearing nothing, save the rush of wind. He withdrew his head and turned to look at Natsu, whom had already begun his investigation. He turned and Jellal saw him holding up what looked like a fuzzy white animal… no, it was-

"A-a wig," Mystogan asked quietly, stepping forward and taking the wig from Natsu.

"Yeah, and look, I found some little black boxes too. What do you think's in them?"

"Make-up… these are make-up boxes."

With grim finally Jellal opened the boxes and revealed the flesh colored make up, which, if applied correctly, could look like a scar.

"I knew this Julius guy was up to no good," Natsu said angrily, ripping the wig away from Jellal and gripping it tightly, "there's something rotten in the heart of Fairy Tail!"

"No, there's something rotten in Erza's heart," Jellal said, thinking of how staunchly the red haired requip wizard had defended Julius, "and it's our job to deal with it, Natsu."

"I can't get a scent off this wig," Natsu said, holding the wig to his nose.

"Our culprit has probably taken great care to clean this room of any sort of evidence," Jellal said, "we should go before Julius returns."

"Should we set up some kinda surveillance for when he comes back," Natsu asked quietly, frowning at Jellal.

"No, if the perp gets suspicious he'll relocate. We need to give him a sense of false security, then we can stake out the room at a later date… for the moment, let's just keep an eye out for any suspicious activity from anyone who might wish the Fairy Tail guild harm, especially Erza," Jellal said.

"Geez, that's a long list," Natsu laughed, "how are we supposed to keep track of-"

His voice died in his throat when he saw Jellal scribbling furiously in a little memo booklet, completely ignoring Natsu's plausible point.

"I have a list of people here who have access to Erza that might wish harm upon her, and on top of that, I have their addresses and blood types," Jellal said, not even registering how strange that sounded.

"How do you have that information," Natsu asked, eyeing Jellal with an air of concern.

"Well, over the years Crime Sorciere has kept track of many dark wizards all over Fiore… all I've done was make note of those whom have a grudge against Erza… which is pretty much the exact same list, I've just crossed off a few names."

"Wait, so Erza is on the bad list for every evil wizard in Fiore?!"

"Sort of," Jellal said, flipping through several pages in the booklet, "there are a few who just have a slight indifference."

After carefully replacing everything where it was supposed to be, Natsu and Jellal left the scene. That said, their presence did not go unnoticed, especially by the previous occupants of room 777, whom had leapt from the window moments before Natsu and Jellal had barged in.

Lucy, Wendy, Charle and Happy were all sitting on the roof of the Hotel, all rather shaken after having nearly been caught. Wendy took a peek over the edge before returning to sit by Lucy as they waited for the intruders to leave the room. When the sound of a door being closed vibrated through the roof, Lucy relaxed and laid back.

"Phew, that was a close one, you guys," she laughed, "if you hadn't come back in time I'd have had a lot of explaining to do to Jellal."

"Glad we could help," Wendy said happily, beaming at Lucy.

"I'm still not sure about this," Charle said, her paws on her hips as she glared between her three compatriots, "should we really be interfering like this? Erza's personal life is no idle plaything after all, and I'd feel better if Wendy were left out of it."

"Charle," Wendy said loudly, "that's not fair! I'm doing this because I wanna make Erza happy! Doesn't she deserve that much?"

"I'm not denying that," Charle said quickly.

"Well, good," Lucy said, suddenly sitting up to frown at Charle, "cause if anyone deserves happiness, it'd be Erza. And I really need Wendy for this to work… speaking of which, Wendy, how much magic power do you have?"

"I'm good on magic power," she said, "and I'll be fully recovered and ready for the date tomorrow."

"Good, until then please take it easy, but go about your business as you usually would. Oh, and don't take any more jobs until this blows over, ok," Lucy asked, giving Wendy a purposeful look.

The Sky Dragon Slayer smiled and gave Lucy a thumbs up before the moment was ruined by Happy.

"Sorry Lucy, but I think you're stuck up here! I'm way too tired to carry you down, much less back into the room. You gotta lay off the pie!"

"And you better make funeral arrangements, you mangy cat," Lucy shouted.

Down at the main entrance of the hotel, Natsu cocked his head and stopped for a moment, causing Jellal to look back at him.

"What is it, Natsu? Do you hear something?"

"Nope," Natsu smiled, carelessly sticking his pinky in his ear and cleaning it out before hurrying to catch up with the man dressed as Mystogan.

 **Nope, not dead yet, and the plot continues to thicken... so much so that if this fic were a soup it'd be 90% corn starch. Yes, that was a cooking joke. Moving on from my lame humor, I feel that this chapter was incredibly difficult to write. Either because it's boring or I just couldn't get into it, but I slogged through. I'm hoping I'll show a bit more initiative when I write about the date, which should be the next chapter. Things are coming to a close, I think. Within the next couple chapters or so, definitely... Thanks for reading! Now for the part where I share music that I like with you because music is a wonderful thing.**

 **Straightjacket-Quinn XCII**

 **Sharpest Weapon-tyDi & MORTEN ft. Cameron Walker**


	6. Dragons, Meteors, and Masterplans

"I believe this is it," Jellal whispered to Natsu.

They were once more sitting in the Fairy Tail Guild's main hall, conspiring once more in a dark corner, where they could see, but not easily be seen.

"This is what," Natsu asked, taking a sip of his large wooden mug, his eyes fixed upon Erza as she spoke animatedly with Mira and Lucy.

"Tonight is the perfect night. Erza and Julius will be on their date tonight, in his apartment! We must act fast if we're to time this right," Jellal uttered urgently.

"Time what right," Natsu asked, still glaring at Erza.

"Tonight is the night we unveil Julius Leengard as a fraud!"

Natsu choked on the contents of his tankard before coughing and thumping his chest, fire shooting from his mouth as he stymied the reaction. Jellal did not move as the flames stopped less than an inch from his face, the heat making his skin feel tight, even under his face wrappings.

"Wait, we're doing that tonight? What about spying around and keeping tabs on them and-"

"We don't have time for that, Natsu," Jellal explained, "now that we are sure something is wrong, we must act to prevent Erza from getting hurt, or worse."

"Well, in that case, I have some bad news," Natsu said suddenly, glancing once more at Erza, "I took a job for tonight. I figured it was gonna be some more pointless surveillance-"

"You just told me you wanted more surveillance," Jellal said, looking at Natsu with a raised eyebrow.

Natsu was unfazed, and he kept his face straight as he turned and made for the door of the guild hall.

"I lied," Natsu said carelessly, "I should be back tomorrow. Let me know how things go with Erza."

Jellal swilled his own tankard before downing it and resuming his bitter watch of Erza, who was still speaking with Lucy and Mira, only now Juvia and Levy had joined in on the conversation.

Natsu, meanwhile, raced down the front steps of the guild hall, grinning as he felt his spine tingle. Tonight was the night, and he hoped the plan went off without a hitch.

"Happy," Natsu called into the sun filled sky.

At first there was no response, but then a twinkle and a flash of blue sailed down faster than the eye could see, followed by a cheery response of "Aye, sir!"

Natsu jumped and his best pal in the world, Happy, caught him. As one, they flew high in the air, making a beeline for a new hotel built down by the docks of Magnolia, where Wendy would be waiting for them in room 777.

"Oh, geez, sorry Erza, I forgot I have a job tonight," Lucy said suddenly, looking downtrodden at the fact that she wouldn't be able to go with and meet Julius.

"Oh, that's too bad," Erza remarked, "I think you'll really like him when you meet him. What job did you take?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Lucy said, "it's a little embarrassing, but I wanted to keep it local so I wouldn't be gone too long. I'll see ya tomorrow!"

Lucy left the guild hall shortly after Natsu, and almost an hour later, she found herself knocking upon room 777 of the Grand Magnolia Hotel and Resort.

"Who's there," asked the timid voice of a young girl as a shadow moved behind the door.

"It's just me, Wendy," Lucy said, smiling as the locks were undone and the door opened.

"Phew, I thought you were room service again," Wendy laughed nervously, closing the door and locking it behind Lucy, "I had to tell them to leave three times already."

"How's it coming," Lucy asked to the man sitting in front of the vanity.

It was an odd sight, but sitting on the stool before the vanity was a man with whitish blonde, shoulder length hair, though pink tufts stuff out from under the edges of his hairline, and he had the face of Natsu Dragneel.

"Slowly," he groaned tiredly, staring as his strange transformation in the mirror.

"I haven't applied the scar make-up," Wendy said, "I'm no good with it, and I thought you'd probably do a better job."

"Oh, you'll get better at make-up, Wendy, trust me… but for now, I'll do the scar. You just focus on using your support magic on Natsu. Is there a spell that will allow him to share your power," Lucy asked, stepping forward and preparing to apply the make-up to Natsu's face.

"I can use support magic to decrease wind resistance and make his move faster, but when it comes to Natsu actually using air magic there isn't much I can do there. I guess I'll just have to be on standby when everything goes down," Wendy sighed, sitting on the bed and picking up her book.

"That'll have to do… Natsu, how is Jellal coming along," Lucy asked, leaning in close to his face and making Natsu flinch as she worked to perfect the fake scar.

"Uh…"

"'Uh'-what, Natsu," Lucy asked exasperatedly.

She leaned away from Natsu to find his face beet red, and his eyes were locked on her chest, which must have looked quite appealing when she'd bent down to view the makeup more closely.

"Idiot."

Lucy held out a hand, and the book that Wendy had been reading was suddenly thrust into it before the blonde brought it down on Natsu's head.

"OW!"

"Keep your eyes right here, you perv," Lucy scowled, using her index and middle fingers to point at her own eyes before once more leaning over and applying the make-up.

"Now, has Jellal made any progress?"

"Yeah," Natsu said, "he knows about the apartment, he's seen the wig and the make-up, and he plans on making a move tonight."

"Perfect," Lucy said, standing up and putting down the make-up case before going to stand behind Natsu.

Again, Natsu was perplexed when he looked in the mirror and found himself staring at someone else entirely, aside from the dark eyes and facial features. Still, scar excluded, the reflection was very familiar.

"I hope you're ready for your date… Julius," Lucy said, wrapping her arms around Natsu's shoulders from behind and smiling into the mirror as Natsu appeared flustered.

Jellal was met with less success than he'd hoped as he waited on Erza's return. She had left to prepare for the date, only to come back looking more ravishing than Jellal could comprehend. Erza must've felt eyes upon her as she glanced about the guild hall, only to find Jellal staring at her quite fervently. She blushed, her face almost as red as her hair as she promptly turned and waved goodbye to her female well-wishers, all of whom were stationed at the bar, gossiping with Mirajane and giggling every now and again.

They waved in return, and without any hesitation, Erza marched out of the front door of the guild hall as if she were marching to battle. Jellal drained his tankard as quickly as possible, only to freeze before he could fully stand as a familiar noise echoed from behind him.

"Heh."

Jellal didn't even need to ask who it was.

"Laxus."

"Jellal… or, I suppose Mystogan is a little more your look nowadays," the lightning dragon slayer muttered, carelessly casting an eye at Jellal's attire.

Jellal hadn't noticed Laxus sneak up on him, and he could only wonder what the man could've wanted.

"I figured I'd join you," Laxus said, pulling out a seat at Jellal's corner table, "after all, sitting in the corner and staring at the Queen of the Fairies? It's a little weird… it's more acceptable when you do it with a pal."

Laxus picked up his own tankard and took a swig to punctuate his statement. Jellal sat back down and turned to stare meaningfully at Laxus.

"Is there something I can do for you? I was just leaving…"

"To tail Erza?"

"Yes."

"And if you go out the front only moments after her, everyone and their mothers, wherever they are, will know exactly what you're up to… stay for a little while and catch her up later."

"Fine. If you have something to say then make it quick," Jellal snapped quietly, his look of distaste not masked by his tone.

"Well, I've done a little digging on Erza's new boytoy. They say his name is Julius something or another, anyway, I did a little background check… the guy doesn't exist," Laxus said, just as carefree as he always was.

"Yeah, I know," Jellal said with an air of urgency about him, "Natsu and I have been doing some reconnaissance… but why do you care about who Erza's dating?"

"Not for the same reasons you do. If I'm gonna be the Guildmaster someday, I need to be able to pick up on the subtler things. Now, if any guildmember of mine was dating a guy that didn't exist, I'd think they were in trouble… or maybe just really into romance novels," Laxus shrugged, taking another gulp from his tankard.

"So you're looking out for Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah… but don't go telling anybody. As the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail-"

"You forgot about Gildarts," Jellal said smoothly.

"Guy spends so much time away, I'm beginning to wonder if he even counts as a Fairy Tail wizard," Laxus said, a note of bitterness in his voice.

"He'll be around a lot more, now that he knows about Cana being his daughter," Jellal countered.

It seemed Laxus had no response, but instead of looking angry, he simply grinned.

"Yeah… hopefully he'll stick around some more. Anyway, if you're gonna tail Erza, do yourself a favor and do that shooting star move up the chimney in the old man's office. That way everyone here thinks you went to bed, instead of thinking you're a stalker," Laxus said quickly, standing from the table and stretching.

"Oh yeah, and before I forget, here's the key to the old man's office. Make sure this Julius guy gets whatever's coming to him," Laxus added before dropping a thick iron key on the table and strutting away.

Jellal couldn't help but stare rather awkwardly at Laxus' back as he left, his hands behind his head, not a care in the world. Finally, Jellal shook himself and quickly swiped the key from the tabletop before stowing it away in his cloak and making his way further into the guild hall, dragging his steps and hunching slightly so he looked tired to the casual viewer.

When he slipped into Makarov's office, however, he found that maintaining the guise of sleepiness was impossible, much less improbable. His spine tingled and his body was shot through with adrenaline as he felt the thrill of espionage creep through him. He stifled his excitement and clambered into the fireplace for a moment before concentrating upon his magic, and then he lit up like a comet, shooting straight through the chimney and off into the sky. Erza had several minute's head start, but he knew where she would be going.

'I'll find out who you are, Julius Leengard,' the masked man thought as he rocketed forward, his body lit up like a meteor, 'I'll oust you and protect Erza!'

From there, Jellal's plan went off without a hitch. He waited just around the corner from room 777, listening carefully as he waited for Erza to arrive. With his eyes, he traced the strange patterns of the rug beneath his boots, but his ears were picking up not one, but several voices coming from within the room he was staking out.

'Those voices could be from just about any room in this row,' Jellal reasoned, wondering why he was so worked up.

It wasn't too hard to pinpoint the reason for that, however. Erza's safety was at risk, and he would have to be careful so as not to-

"I don't care what you think, it looks perfect," yelled a very familiar voice.

'Lucy? But I just saw her at the Guild Hall… is she consorting with Erza's enemies? Why? Those two are like sisters, albeit Erza's strange tendencies,' Jellal thought to himself.

"She's right, Julius, but Lucy, you should keep your voice down!"

'And Wendy too? But she's so young, was she pressured into it, or is she an enemy as well? As soon as this date is over, I'll catch them with Julius and figure everything out!'

Before he could hear anything else, the sound of an elevator landing upon their floor broke the silence, and he heard the doors slide open as a pair of heels click-clacked their way down the hall, towards the door to Julius' room. Crouching down, Jellal pulled a small mirror from within his robes, holding it out at about ankle height, where few people tended to look when checking corners. He saw a fine violet dress, black heels, and scarlet hair done up into a bun which was held in place with a flower shaped pin.

It was Erza.

And the way she looked made Jellal's skin tingle as his stomach did somersaults. He barely managed to whip his hand back around the corner before Erza lifted her gaze from her attire. She'd been so confused and unsure of what to wear that she just chose the dress. It seemed like overkill at the moment, but as Lucy hadn't been around, Erza was left to prepare herself for the date.

Erza paused, sure she saw something scuttle around the corner. When nothing reentered her line of sight, she fixed a smile onto her face and turned to face the door of Julius' room before rapping on it gently.

"Erza, is that you," Julius asked, not even waiting for an answer as he threw open the door.

"Yes, of course. You didn't forget the time of our date, did you," Erza joked as she was swept into the room by Julius.

Jellal pulled at his mask, tucking it beneath his jawline so that he could breathe some fresh air. All he had to do now was wait, and then the moment Erza left, he would storm the room and catch Lucy, Wendy, and Julius red handed.

Seconds dragged by as minutes turned to hours. A few sparse people came and went as the evening slowly turned dark and the sky filled with stars, not that Jellal could see them. He dozed for a time, his mind working at a million miles an hour as his body grew still. Finally, a noise caught his attention. It was the sound of a door opening, and not one, but two pairs of footsteps came out into the hall.

"A walk sounds nice," Erza was saying, "it'll help me to digest that meal. Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"My mother taught me a lot," Julius replied, holding out his arm for Erza to loop her own through, "and after she passed, I had to fend for myself. I learned to cook through several years of trial and error, hence the liberal seasoning."

Jellal rose from his post, sneering as he listened to what was likely a phony story, tailor made and perfectly woven to garner sympathy.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother," Erza said quietly as she and Julius waited for an elevator.

It seemed the ploy had worked. Jellal chanced a glance around the corner, and once more he found his eyes glued to the face of Julius Leengard, as it was so frightfully familiar Jellal felt foolish for being unable to place it. Still, if they were leaving together….

'That throws my plan out of the window,' Jellal thought angrily, 'perhaps I'll have a chance to uncover Julius' identity if I follow them.'

As soon as the doors to the elevator clanked open and Erza and Julius stepped inside, Jellal made for the nearest window facing the front of the hotel. It was a few minutes before he spotted Erza's scarlet bun, bobbing through a fairly thick evening crowd. Noting their direction, Jellal searched for romantic attractions and found the two most likely to be favored by Erza.

One was the Kardia Cathedral, and a bit more to the Northwest laid the very same park that Erza and Julius had visited on their previous date. Only now, at night, the great tree that stood in the middle would be lit up with fairy lights.

It was public, and would be fairly crowded. The park would be an excellent spot for a dark wizard to unveil his master plan, while simultaneously holding the citizens of Magnolia hostage, not to mention its distance from the guild hall would make it difficult for Fairy Tail to mobilize. With his decision made, Jellal leapt from the window, and he rocketed so high up into the sky that the clouds parted way for him.

His ascent was far from comfortable; the air was thin and hard to breathe, the clouds soaked his heavy robes and weighed him down, and a cold gripped him as he shot higher and higher. He poured a little more power into his technique, and the dampness in his robes sizzled away. He was covered in an inferno of star fire, and he shot towards the park at speeds that would likely tear a weaker wizard apart.

'It'll be worth it if I can save Erza from whatever her date has planned for her,' Jellal thought, golden light trailing from him as he flew.

On the ground, many people noticed the bright light shooting across the sky, and they looked up and pointed at it, laughing at their luck.

"A shooting star, mommy, look, look," a little girl shouted, pointing up at the light.

Erza and Julius stopped, the both of them staring up at the light. Julius gulped and sweat beaded his brow. It seemed Jellal hadn't been kidding: tonight was the night.

"It's beautiful," Erza said quietly, reaching down and weaving her fingers through Julius'.

Beneath the guise of the scarred air wizard, Natsu felt a strange tingle run the course of his back as Erza looked at him meaningfully. It was strange, in many ways, for they had been guildmates for years; raised like family with bonds stronger than blood.

'It's for Erza's happiness,' Lucy had said, almost pleading with Natsu to take on the role of Julius, 'don't you want her to be happy?'

'Yeah, I do,' Natsu had replied, caving in to Lucy's insane plan as a vision of Erza flashed behind his dark eyes. It was the Erza from after Jellal had left, after the Grand Magic Games. Her face was blank, with no emotion, and her eyes, which were usually brimming with intensity, were so bleak and distant they seemed to slide right over everything and everyone in the guild hall.

But even as Natsu stared into the lifeless eyes of Erza Scarlet, he flashed back to the present, where Erza's eyes were glittering with happiness and her cheeks were touched with red. She looked so different now, so full of life and vigor, that Natsu felt sure that Lucy's plan would work.

Julius smiled and squeezed Erza's hand in return, the both of them walking towards Magnolia Park, where the shooting star they'd seen earlier was inexorably headed.

Meanwhile, at the park, Wendy, Lucy, Happy, and Charle were preparing for the grand finale, where Erza and Jellal would both finally have the wool over their eyes lifted.

"Do I really have to drink this invisibility potion," Happy groaned, "can't I just wear a cool cloak like you guys?"

"If they see you helping Julius, it'll be a dead giveaway," Lucy said exasperatedly, "we need this to give both Jellal and Erza an emotional kick in the pants! If they see you carting Natsu around when he's supposed to be a wind wizard, they'll just get angry!"

"Fine," Happy said finally, "just so long as I don't have to carry _you_ around anymore."

"My weight is perfectly acceptable, thank you very much," Lucy said loudly.

They were in a rather seedy motel room, as Lucy was funding every part of the operation and needed to limit expenditures. Truth be told, she was dipping quite heavily into her rent money, considering she hadn't taken a job since the plan had gone into effect, but she was willing to look past that, if it meant getting Erza back to her old self.

"He's here," Wendy said from the window, beckoning Lucy to her side as a golden comet fell from the heavens and landed… in the enormous tree in the center of the park.

"Draw the curtains," Lucy hissed, "Erza and Natsu will be here soon. Happy, drink that potion, Wendy, get ready to use your support magic on Natsu. Remember, he needs to look like he's the one using air magic!"

"And what exactly are you going to do," Charle asked, folding her arms and glaring at Lucy.

"Well, in addition to paying for not one, but two hotel rooms, doing Natsu's makeup, doing the majority of the planning, writing all the letters, buying the extremely expensive invisibility potion, and piquing Jellal's interest in Erza's wellbeing, I'll be on standby until it comes time to explain everything. Until then, I'll be monitoring the situation, so that I can accurately assess when and where the people under my command are needed," Lucy finished, looking more and more put upon with each word.

"Well, I think it's-" Charle began.

"Natsu and Erza are here too- but-but they're… uh…"

Wendy withdrew her head from behind the curtain, red in the face as she went and sat on the bed.

"What is it, Wendy," Lucy asked.

No response came. Instead, Wendy simply pointed out the window. Lucy drew back the curtain so as to peak outside, and sure enough she saw Erza and Julius. Titania was dragging the disguised Fire Dragon Slayer along, looking positively delighted as the two of them ran right up to the tree and began to dance.

"What's so wrong with that Wendy," Lucy asked, looking back at the faint looking blue haired girl before looking back outside.

Lucy's eyes found both Julius and Erza, locked together in an embrace, lips pressed together as they spiraled around, fueled by their dinner and a strange music that filled the air of the park.

"Dammit Natsu," Lucy growled, "that wasn't part of the plan."

Julius and Erza broke apart, both of them smiling and happy as they twirled around and around. Others began to dance well, spiraling beneath the great tree as the fairy lights flashed in time with the music. A light shined from within the tree, putting all the others to shame, and it took a moment for the golden glow to break through Lucy's shock and dismay.

"Oh no," she muttered, turning back towards Wendy, Charle, and Happy, who was now invisible, "guys, take your stations, Jellal saw all of that and he looks like me might blow up the tree!"

To say Jellal was angry was an understatement.

"Erza," he muttered, gripping the branches of the tree as his entire body light up light a star, shining through the tree as people clapped, thinking it to be part of the celebrations.

"Jellal," Natsu muttered, sniffing the air. He was sure he had smelled him earlier when he'd seen the shooting star fly by, but now the magic power he was exuding was a dead giveaway.

"I sense him as well," Erza said, before realizing something was off, "wait, you know Jellal?"

"Move, now," Julius yelled, his voice changing to sound a little less dignified than usual, and a lot more familiar to Erza.

Grabbing Erza, Julius flipped away, supported by an invisible Happy as they pirouetted through the air.

"Julius Leengard," Jellal hollered, standing in a smoking crater where Natsu had been moments before, "unhand Erza Scarlet at once! I know you're not who you say you are!"

People gasped and shimmied away from Jellal's burning magical aura, clearing a space where Julius and Erza stood, facing down Jellal.

"Took you long enough," Natsu jeered, "but if I had to guess, you still don't know who I am!"

" _Pleiades_ ," Jellal shouted, golden rays of powerful magic falling from the sky like meteors, all six of them aimed at Julius.

Julius took flight once more, dodging each of the projectiles, the crowd scattering as chaos descended upon Magnolia Park.

"Who are you," Erza asked, pummeling Julius, who held onto her tightly as they dodged Jellal's meteors.

"Hey, cut it out," Julius hissed, "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. I'm a friend."

"Why should I believe you," Erza asked angrily, pushing against him with all her might.

"Rub my shoulder," Julius hissed, alighting upon the ground once more.

"This isn't exactly the best time to ask for a massage," Erza seethed, but she did as Julius had suggested, and to her surprise she found a black Fairy Tail tattoo upon Julius's right shoulder.

It all clicked into place: the strange sense familiarity, the way he seemed to know so much about her, everything. Then her mind flashed to only a few moments ago, when the two of them had kissed.

"Natsu," Erza breathed, freeing herself from his grip and staring at him disbelievingly.

"Grand Chariot!"

In the time it took for Erza to leave Julius's side, Jellal had taken to the air and cast the spell. Seven magical seals appeared, forming a constellation and firing down from the sky. The area of effect was far too large for Natsu to dodge, however, so instead he smiled.

"Get me up there, Happy," Julius said, tearing away his wig as he revealed his salmon pink hair. Kicking off from the ground, Natsu met the full force of the blast head on.

"Jellal, stop, it's Natsu," Erza called out, but it was too late. An explosion shook the earth and sent Erza careening back into the great tree, which she clung to for support.

"Natsu," Lucy whispered.

"Is he ok," Wendy asked, trying to peer through the celestial light of the explosion.

Jellal stared into the light he'd created, trying to see Erza, whose voice he was sure he'd just heard. Did he overdo it, was Erza ok? A strange sound broke through the deafening roar of cosmic magic as an orange glow began to break through the gold.

"Lightning Fire Dragon, Brilliant Flame!"

"Natsu," Jellal asked quietly.

The Heavenly Body Magic was suddenly engulfed by flames shot through with lightning. They mixed and meshed, becoming one, until finally all that was left was orange fire, which quickly vaporized into nothing, leaving Natsu flying in the air beneath Jellal, arms folded, smirking after successfully warding off one of Jellal's more powerful attacks.

"Natsu," Jellal stammered, "you were Julius Leengard? How? Why?!"

"Yeah, it was me. If you come down here for a sec, I think the mastermind behind all this would like to explain it to you," Natsu said, smiling.

Jellal froze. Mastermind? Behand all what? He waited for a moment, and then another epiphany hit him.

"Yeah, that'd be me," Lucy called, waving at everyone as they made their descents.

Soon, Erza, Jellal, Natsu, Wendy, Charle, and the still invisible Happy were all assembled next to the tree, which was smoldering slightly from the inferno earlier. A brief ten minutes later, Lucy had managed to vaguely explain the plan.

"And so I decided to hatch this little scheme, where Natsu would court Erza as someone else to make Jellal jealous," Lucy finished, only realizing in hindsight how bad the plan sounded.

"Oh, is that so," Erza asked, very close to her boiling point, as her dress was now ruined.

"Well, uh, it seemed a good idea at the time, Erza," Lucy added quickly, "I only wanted what was best for you, really! We all did! You were acting so distant and evasive, we were worried about you."

Jellal simply stood there, holding the bridge of his nose and avoiding eye contact with Erza, whose rage was burning off of her in the form of intense magical power. She gazed around the group, her scowl making each of them quake in their boots, until finally Erza's frown slipped and faded, replaced with the same faraway look Lucy, Natsu, Wendy, Happy and, Charle had become accustomed to. Her shoulders sagged a little, and finally Erza looked about sorrowfully before finally catching Jellal's eye.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but never, under any circumstances, try to play matchmaker again," Erza scolded tiredly, her heart not in it as she turned and walked away, pulling the comb from her hair and allowing it to fall from its bun as she ignored the stares of her guildmates on her back.

 **And here we have the climax of this fic, which I imagine would've been a lot longer had it transferred to the page similarly to how I first saw it in my mind. Isn't it strange how words limit our imagination? What if I could just blink the story to people interested to hear it. Then again, there are those that argue that the words are a part of what makes a story beautiful. But enough philosophy, in this chapter we have a few reveals, once of which is Natsu being Julius, which you probably picked up on form the last name, Leengard is actually Dragneel backwards. Other than that, not much else to it... I think one more chapter should have this fic over and done with, thanks for reading!**


	7. Love: Bane of the Best Laid Plans

"And that's how my brilliant plan went up in flames," Lucy sighed, leaning heavily on the bar with one hand and gripping a tankard with the other.

It was very early the next morning, and Lucy had been chatting with Mirajane, who surprisingly didn't look tired at all. The guildhall was quiet, and save for a straggler every now and again; no one disturbed the peace.

"And so Erza got angry at you for trying to help her," Mirajane asked.  
Lucy smiled and gave a lame sort of chuckle before answering.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well then, it seems like I'll have to have a little talk with Erza about the meaning of friendship," Mira said sweetly, although the implied conversation if there even were one, would be far from sweet.

"T-t-there's no need for that, Mira! It was a stupid idea in the first place; I should've known better than to mess with Erza's stuff," Lucy cried, earning a giggle from Mira.

"Just kidding. Still, this is somewhat worrisome. Maybe you should all get together and talk it out," Mirajane suggested thoughtfully, using a rag to dry a set of freshly washed glasses.

"I notice how you didn't include yourself in that statement… why don't you come with and help us persuade her to date Jellal instead of beating around the bush," Lucy said sarcastically.

"Erza and I don't exactly see eye to eye," Mira sighed, "but I suppose if you think it's a good idea…"

"Again, I was kidding!"

Much later that very same day, Lucy had returned home, intending to sleep for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. She slowly tromped up the steps to her apartment, grumbling about her sore feet and her exhaustion, only to freeze by the door to her unit, voices echoing from within.

"Why hasn't she come back yet; this wasn't part of the plan..."

"Lucy will be okay; she's a resourceful girl."

Lucy's eyebrow dangerously twitched as she gripped the doorknob and turned it, recognizing the voices as those of her co-conspirators.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN MY HOUSE?! Oh, and Hi, Wendy, hey, Charle."

"What the heck, Lucy?! Happy and I are a part of the group too," Natsu interjected, sitting up from his comfortable position on Lucy's bed as Happy flew about the room at breakneck speeds.

"I know I said that I wanted you guys to meet back here should things go awry, but the plan is over and done. And I haven't slept since the day before yesterday," Lucy groaned, singlehandedly pulling Natsu off of her bed before kicking off her weighty boots and climbing into it herself.

"We were going over the plan ourselves," Wendy said, looking tired, but undaunted by Lucy's poor attitude all the same, "and we thought that if we simply came out and talked to Erza, we could snap her out of it."

"Y'know, Mira said the same thing," Lucy said, her voice muffled from the fluffy pillows and thick blanket she hid beneath.

"Mira may lock horns with Erza, but she's smart, intuitive, and I think she may know Erza better than most," Natsu said, rubbing the back of his head as he kicked up from the floor. "And so far, that's the only thing I can think of doing."

"'The only thing you can think of doing,'" Charle asked, scandalized, "Wendy and I came up with the idea, you just jumped on the bandwagon."

"I'll jump on whatever wagon you want my love," Happy said romantically, landing on the bed and batting his eyelashes at Charle.

"Now you're just being a sycophant," Charle ostracized, crossing her arms.

"A sick-o-what," Happy and Natsu asked in unison, looking at Charle as if she were speaking an entirely different language.

Perhaps it was all the bickering or Lucy's guilt at the events of the night before, but within an hour of her homecoming, she knew that sleep wouldn't come easily, so instead, she bathed, gathered up the group, and marched them all out the door; one last mission on their mind as they wound through the streets of Magnolia.

Natsu, Happy, Charle and Wendy followed Lucy quietly as she mindlessly wound her way through the streets, taking the most indirect path to the guildhall, wherein many of Fairy Tail's wizards rented apartments.

Lucy was hoping to see Jellal out and about, or perhaps sitting solemnly upon a building, or in a tree branch, but she neither heads nor tails of the masked man.

Soon enough, they found their way to the guild hall, but upon entry, Lucy noted that Jellal and Erza were not present. It was strange, but Lucy supposed that they were likely just sulking in their respective apartments. It worked in Lucy's favor, anyway, for she still hadn't thought of how she was supposed to apologize for her meddling.

'I guess I'll just have to wing it,' the celestial wizard thought as her face fell and her heart sank.

"C'mon, Lucy, let's go! We gotta go apologize the crap outta Erza and Je- I mean Mystogan," Natsu said with a grin, punching his fist into his palm as he spoke.

Not for the first time, Lucy felt Natsu's antics lift her spirits, and so she held her head high, took a breath, and marched headfirst through the main hall and into the dark corridors beyond that lead to the S-class apartment complex.

"Here, this is Jellal's room," Natsu spoke quietly to the others, walking up to the door and knocking quite loudly.

A pause was punctuated by a deep silence, and Natsu's calm and apologetic demeanor was soon a thing of the past as he beat on the door and jeered, trying to lure Jellal out to face him.

"I know you're in there, you coward," Natsu cried, slamming flaming fists into the door, one after another, "Erza is counting on you to feel better, and we need to say we're sorry!"

"Uh, Natsu-"

"Come out and fight me you-"

"Natsu…"

"-two faced traitor, whatever happened to-"

"Natsu!"

"-caring about your friends in Fairy Tail!"

"NATSU," Lucy shouted, causing the fire dragonslayer to turn around and huff at her.

"WHAT," Natsu asked exasperatedly.

"The door is unlocked."

"….oh."

Natsu gripped the doorknob and twisted, throwing the door wide and preparing for an assault as he scanned the room. Within seconds, he extinguished the flames in his hands and was already out the door, walking down the hallway as Wendy, Lucy, Happy and Charle followed him.

"Hey, wait up, Natsu, where are you going," Lucy asked.

"He's not in there," Natsu replied simply, "I'd have smelled him."

"Then why didn't you know when we were outside his room," Charle asked as she flew along on a pair of small white wings.

"I don't know, probably the same reason the door didn't light on fire when I punched it… magic wards or whatever but I can smell a trail now. He was around here recently, and this is where he went," the Salamander said with a cocky smile as he pointed to a door bearing the name 'Erza S.' upon the bronzed nameplate.

Half an hour earlier, Jellal Fernandes could be found pacing quite agitatedly in his apartment, the thought that Erza could be so near him (her apartment was only just down the hall and around a corner) and still so far weigh heavily upon his mind. As he paced, he wondered if it would be viable to go and see her. For a moment, a single moment, just before she'd turned and trudged away, Jellal had felt so incredibly helpless it physically pained him, for all he had wanted to do at that moment was hold and comfort Erza.

The dead, far and away stare of someone who'd lost all hope only was Jellal could describe Erza's expression when she'd learned of Lucy's obnoxious plan, and the thought of Lucy only served to make Jellal angrier at himself. Sure, he was irate at all the interference and the cloak and dagger, but what got to him was the fact that they were able to pull off their plan without a hitch while he stumbled through the situation blindly, even going so far as to attack Natsu, who was disguised as Julius that alone was unforgivable. Jellal had always been so proud of his brooding, calculated figure, to think that he'd let it fall so quickly in the face of Erza's transgressions

'No,' Jellal thought, 'Erza is free to kiss whomever she pleases. So long as she is happy, then I am happy.'  
But she wasn't happy, and neither was Jellal. They were miserable, with nothing to lose, separated by the strings of fate. A jolt shot through Jellal, and she sat upright with a strangely blank expression upon his face: if they were miserable separately, then perhaps together they would be….

He stood, and without changing into clean clothes, combing his hair, or even putting on a shirt, Jellal left his apartment, and he walked down to Erza's. He counted the steps as he went, ignoring the fact that he was barefoot and shirtless and probably didn't smell the cleanest after wearing Mystogan's heavy robes all day.

Jellal knocked upon the door to Erza's apartment, counting out the seconds that passed to try and drown out his nervousness. He heard movement within, and after a few moments, Erza opened the door, her eyes red, her hair a mess, and her nose runny. She glared at Jellal and sniffed, as if daring him to object to her miserable state, but then she noticed his own. A moment of intense eye contact had passed before Jellal felt his stomach drop and he lunged, locking lips with Erza.  
It was the moment of truth, and for a moment, she held a hand to his chest, ready to throw him bodily across the hall, should she choose to, but instead she wrapped her arm around his neck and tugged him into her room.

They spun around and around for a moment, so intertwined in the passion that they didn't notice as they knocked over Erza's armor stands and her miscellaneous weapon racks. They fell against the walls and clung to anything for support, their lips never separating as they tried to make their way to the bed. Jellal had worked his hands beneath Erza's pajamas, and she had responded accordingly, her hands wandering up and down his toned abdomen: a result of his intense training regimen.

"Mmmm," Erza's moaned, pulling Jellal into a violent grip as he responded in kind.

"Mmmmhmmmm," he groaned, indicating he'd found the general direction of the bed.

"NATSU, WAIT!"

Everyone on the scene froze.

It was utter chaos, trapped within a single, silent moment in time as everyone stood in awe of the sight. Jellal and Erza, who were locked in each other's embrace, were staring quite surprisedly at Natsu, who'd opened the door to Erza's room, Lucy who'd unsuccessfully dragged Natsu away from the door, and Wendy, whose poor, innocent eyes couldn't be covered by Charle quickly enough. Lucy and Wendy shook as they stood there, while Natsu frowned quite intently at Erza and Jellal.

"Uhhhhh."

Natsu's voice broke the silence as he stared at Jellal and Erza, his eyes flickering suspiciously between them as he tried to grasp the meaning of the scene.

"Natsu," Lucy implored, still pulling upon his arm, "let's go."

"So… you guys are ok," Natsu asked, still looking at Jellal and Erza.

"Yeah, Natsu," Jellal said, turning away from Erza while simultaneously throwing an arm over her shoulder, "we're fine. Right?"

He turned to look at the scarlet haired requip wizard, who smiled at Jellal before turning at smiling brightly at Natsu and Lucy.

"Yeah, we're fine, Natsu. Really," Erza agreed.

"Ok, good, cause I was worried-"

"Natsu!"

"Fine, fine," he said, closing the door and allowing himself to be shepherded away from Erza's apartment.

Again, Jellal and Erza were left alone, conscious of their rather impromptu passion as they awkwardly cleared their throats and tried to muster up the courage to speak.

"Jellal, I-"

"No, I understand-"

"But really, we-"

"I'm fine with it, so long as-"

"Me too, so should we-"

"If you want to-"

They both smiled, leaving their thoughts unfinished as the day grew long in Erza's dimly lit, warm, musty apartment.

The next day, Fairy Tail received some rather grim news at the hands of a disgruntled looking master Makarov, who sloshed his drink about and spoke rather loudly, considering the silence.

"I am displeased to report the loss of an S-class wizard today," Makarov slurred, waving his tankard at the guild, "Mystogan, one of the most powerful of Fairy Tail's wizards, has decided to move on to bigger and better things.

Makarov's eyes met Erza's for a moment, neither showing any overt emotions as the announcement was made.

"Make no mistake, this is not a trend or coincidence, this was an unavoidable incident, wherein Mystogan felt it necessary to leave for personal reasons. He will forever hold Fairy Tail in his heart, and he expects all of us to take up the slack left over by his absence. Make sure you do him proud!"

A cheer went up before Makarov raised a hand for silence.

"I've watched this guild grow ever since I became Master, and let me tell you that for all the magic in the world, few things can stand to match the power of love. It drives us, pushes us to be better, makes us strive to protect our family members in need! When our bodies are beaten and bruised, and the enemy seems insurmountable, the power of love keeps us alive and fighting! In the name of love, we humble guild wizards find our reason for living! Never give up hope, keep the faith, and when all seems lost, you must dive into the deep end head first, because that is how you learn to swim!"

"YEAH!"

As one, the Fairy Tail guild raised their hands, pointing to the sky with one thumb splayed, openly showing their love for their guild, their friends, and their home within Fairy Tail. Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy all raised theirs as well, but Natsu's proud smile was lost when he felt something shifts in his surroundings. Looking around, he noted that Erza was nowhere to be found, though she had been close by only moments ago. Pushing through the crowd, tracking her scent until his arrival at the door to the guild hall, which had cracked open ever so slightly. Natsu was about to throw open the door and reprimand Erza for leaving during such a tender moment, but instead, he saw something that sent a shiver down his spine.

Erza was standing on the very top step in her natural armor, with tears flowing down her face and a sad smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Like her guildmates, her hand raised she stared out over drenched sunset town of Magnolia, and there, in the distance, walking away from the Guildhall, was a man dressed in the signature hooded blue robes of Crime Sorciere.  
Jellal stopped, sensing something behind him. He unslung his pack from his shoulder, stuffed to the brim with the robes of the wizard Mystogan, and he turned to look back at the Fairy Tail Guild one last time before he left. Sure enough, there on the top step was Erza, brightly smiling as she wept tears of sadness. Jellal couldn't blame her for them in the slightest, though, as he felt his own eyes grow warm and wet, so instead, he blinked away the tears, and he raised his hand to form the Fairy Tail guild's salute. He stood there for a moment, savoring the way Erza's hair blew in a gentle breeze. The wind tugged at his robes, almost as if it were pulling him back to her as it swept up the stairs of the guild hall. Finally, Jellal felt a sense of reckless abandon come over him, and noticing that there was no one else around, he called out to the woman he loved.

"I love you, Erza, and I'll come back to visit soon!"

Erza's smile widened, and she cupped her hands around her mouth before responding, "I love you too! I'll be waiting!"

Jellal smiled, and before the tears could break through his macho façade, he turned and resumed his pace, walking away from the Fairy Tail guild so as to rejoin his comrades in the fight against evil.

Three hours later, a series of festivities had been undergoing to celebrate Mystogan's retirement from the guild, and people laughed, sang, drank, brawled, and shared stories of his greatest feats and most thrilling moments. Lucy, Natsu, Wendy, and Erza were all seated at a table together, the mood rather solemn as everyone watched Erza pick at her food absentmindedly.

"Are you still angry with us, Erza," Happy asked quietly, looking up from his half-eaten fish.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm just a little preoccupied."

"Is everything ok, Erza," Lucy asked delicately, laying a hand on the requip wizard's shoulder.

"Yes, all is fine. Thing just wont be the same anymore… but they'll get better."

It was clear that something had changed, and everyone was happy to see that her eyes no longer held that dead, uncaring look, but still she seemed down.

"We didn't ruin any particular moments or anything, did we," Lucy asked, trying to get to the root of the problem.

"Oh, no. In fact, it's a good thing you guys showed up when you did," Erza said tiredly.

In truth, after Natsu's rather thick-headed intrusion, Jellal and Erza had taken a step back from their moment of passion and had quite the long conversation, well into the wee hours of the morning. They lounged around in their pajamas, coming up with only one solution to their problem: a long distance relationship.

"Wait, so you two are-"

"Yes," Erza chirped, "we're together, technically. The fact that we care for each other was made abundantly clear by your attempts to well, all of that aside, we're happy. That's what counts."

A tense silence followed, and Erza sighed before continuing.

"And… I appreciate all that you guys have done for us. Even though it went a little overboard, I love you all for trying to make this happen," Erza said, standing up and requipping into her pajamas, "now, I suggest all of you go to bed! I have a date in two days with Jellal, so we'll all be going on a job that allows us to see each other, this will likely be happening frequently, so I think I'll have to make up a schedule for all of you."

"Did she just hi-jack all of our leisure time," Happy quietly asked as Erza walked away.

"I suppose I could use the money," Lucy mumbled, "considering how broke I am."

"Well, I guess we should start packing, Charle," Wendy said, a weak smile on her face as she thought of the long trek that likely awaited her.

"Welcome back Jellal," Meldy chirped, "I hope your trip was worth it, cause we've got some serious work to do!"

"It was a train wreck," Jellal said, throwing down his pack and taking his place by the campfire in the woods outside of Magnolia, "but it was most definitely worth it."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you," Meldy mockingly asked as Jellal gave her a sour look and then smiled to himself.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't."

 **Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, step right up! Come and see oddity that it this fic! It had minimal cursing, swearing, and was actually a much more family friendly story that my usual ones, which was the entire point of me writing it. Also, I just really love Fairy Tail, and I wanted to do some experimenting. Thanks to all of you for reading. Can't believe it took me a year and a half to finish, but I suppose when you consider home much things have changed, it makes a lot of sense.**

 **Also, a huge thank you to , for using editing mistakes and otherwise watching my back. Goodness knows I can't type perfectly all the time, and I'm hoping that everything from here on in will be a little better when it comes to grammar, punctuation, and spelling.**

 **Once more, I'd like to thank each and every one of the people that took the time to read the story! I realize it was short, simple and rather dull, but the fast that some people actually took the time to read it is why I do what I do.**


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